Jim Owles and New Kings Dems back housing ballot proposals

The housing ballot proposals set to go before New York voters this November just got two new endorsers: the New Kings Democrats and the Jim Owles Democratic Club.

The two political clubs – one of which sprung up as a reformist, more progressive response to the Brooklyn Democratic Party, the other a citywide LGBTQ Democratic club – are officially joining a coalition of electeds and organizations working to get the proposals passed. That coalition, which has been steadily growing, is the supporting arm of the “YES on Affordable Housing” campaign – a $3 million effort led by YIMBY non-profit Open New York and the New York Housing Conference. 

Others like Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, City Comptroller Brad Lander, Habitat for Humanity and Queens and Brooklyn Borough Presidents Donovan Richards and Antonio Reynoso are already part of that coalition.  

“If you want to fight – and win – with strong progressive values at the fore, New Kings Democrats and Jim Owles Democratic Club are the partners you need,” Amit Singh Bagga, campaign director of YES on Affordable Housing, said in a statement. “Both clubs have a rich history of speaking truth to power and fighting for working and marginalized New Yorkers.”

In joining the coalition, New Kings Democrats and the Jim Owles Democratic Club members will take part in what’s already a contentious battle between supporters of the proposals and opponents like the New York City Council, which stands to lose some of its power to block new housing projects if voters approve the questions on the Nov. 4 ballot.

At the heart of the fight are the four housing-releated measures proposed by a Charter Revision Commission convened by Mayor Eric Adams. Together, they aim to make it easier to build housing in New York amid the city’s dire housing crisis, but they aren’t without controversy. A proposal to create an appeals board that could overrule a City Council decision to block affordable housing projects and others to streamline the city’s land-use process will be hotly debated in the weeks to come. (There will be six total proposals on the Nov. 4 ballot, although the other two are not housing-related.) 

“The rent in New York City is too damn high,” said Allen Roskoff, president of Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club. “If we don’t act now, we will lose any hope of our city being a beacon for people to realize their dreams.”