THE COUNCIL OF

THE CITY OF NEW YORK

April 8, 2016

Senator Ted Cruz

Cruz for President
P.O. Box 25376
Houston, TX 77265
Dear Senator Cruz,
We write to ask as part of your campaign in New Yorks Presidential primary that you tour a
New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) public housing development, meet with public
housing residents, and speak specifically to the issues of affordable housing facing low-income
New Yorkers and Americans (including not only public housing but also Housing Choice
Vouchers, National Housing Trust Fund, etc.). These are critical issues for tens of millions of
Americans, but we have not heard enough about them in the Presidential campaign thus far. We
are therefore extending this request to each of the Presidential campaigns, and asking that you
work with us on a tour and address before New Yorks primary on April 19th.
We know that you are aware of the affordable housing crisis facing millions of Americans.
Matthew Desmonds best-seller, Evicted, is drawing powerful attention to the misery facing lowincome renters across the country, including decrepit and unhealthy homes, spending more than
they can afford, and constant fear or reality of eviction and homelessness. Gentrification is
adding to the challenges facing metropolitan regions like New York City, but the crisis spreads
all across the country.
We estimate that there is a gap of 7.2 million affordable and available rental units for the nations
10.4 million lowest-income households three quarters of whom spend more than half of their
income on rent and utilities. Unfortunately, federal support has been withdrawn for public
housing, vouchers, and senior housing, exacerbating the housing crisis overall, and especially for
those with the lowest incomes. Meanwhile, we continue to spend nearly $75 billion (more than
double the entire HUD budget) on the Mortgage Interest Deduction, which goes
disproportionately to the wealthiest Americans.

We ask specifically that you tour New Yorks most critical but also most endangered federal
safety net: the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The largest provider of affordable
housing in the United States, NYCHA manages 178,000 units of public housing and distributes
88,000 Section 8 vouchers, housing a population of well over 700,000 New Yorkers. NYC
housing advocates estimate that the real number of individuals that NYCHA houses is 800,000,
when accounting for those who have not received NYCHA's formal authorization to reside in an
apartment. Without NYCHA, our city would become Americas gilded metropolis, unaffordable
to its poorest residents. Like the country at large, New York City has its own tale of two cities.
Theres the gilded city, which is the venue of choice for political fundraisers and galas, and then
theres the other city, where the urban poor live in palpable fear of displacement from their
homes and neighborhoods.
With a population the size of Boston, NYCHA is the core of that other city. But it has since
suffered an unconscionable withdrawal of support by the federal government. As a result,
NYCHA is weathering a perfect storm of aging infrastructure and federal
disinvestment. NYCHA faces a $17 billion dollar capital need, which has made mold and leaks,
broken boilers and elevators, leaking roofs and bricks a perpetual fact of life in public housing.
As a result, in a growing number of neighborhoods, we see luxury towers side-by-side with
crumbling structures of low-income housing. Is that the polarized image of America that we wish
to project to the world? Is that the message we wish to send about how we, as a nation, treat the
urban poor? If black and brown lives matter in the United States, how do we address the
decades-long deterioration of NYCHA?
A tour of a NYCHA development would be the perfect venue for you to talk about your plans to
address the housing crisis facing our country not only your plans to preserve and improve
public housing, but also Housing Choice Vouchers, the National Housing Trust Fund, LowIncome Housing Tax Credits, supporting municipalities like New York City who are taking bold
and innovative steps involving land use and local subsidies, and other efforts you might propose.
As a coalition of advocates, community-based organizations, and elected officials intent on
raising the visibility of families at the lowest incomes, we are making this request of all of the
Presidential candidates. We would like to work with you to plan and implement the tour. This
request is not part of an endorsement process most of the signatories to this letter are 501c3
organizations, who will not endorse a candidate. We would like to bring attention to these critical
issues, and help your campaign have the best opportunity to talk about what you will do as
President to address them.
We are urging you to perform the same public service that Jacob Riis did more than a century
ago, and Robert Kennedy did on his Presidential campaign: highlight how the other half lives.
Show the American people how our nation treats its poorest citizens in its largest and wealthiest
city. Give the other half hope that, after decades of abandonment by the federal government, they
will truly be seen and heard by the next President of the United States.
If you are interested in working with us, please contact: Rachel Goodman, Chief of Staff in
Council Member Brad Landers office, (718) 499-1090, or rachelagoodman@gmail.com.

Thank you for your leadership, your service to our country, and for your serious consideration of
our request.
Sincerely,

New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres

Deputy Leader; Chair, Committee on Public Housing
New York City Council Member Jumaane D. Williams
Deputy Leader; Chair, Committee on Housing and Buildings
New York City Council Member Brad Lander
Deputy Leader for Policy; Chair, Committee on Rules, Privileges and Elections
National Low Income Housing Coalition
Community Service Society
Community Voices Heard (CVH) Power
Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE)
Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES)
The Legal Aid Society