Behind each one of my housing reforms — each proposal to build more and build better — are New Yorkers like Niya Newman, who I helped move into a permanently affordable unit in Gowanus . For Niya and her son, a few hundred dollars rent isn’t just the difference between new clothes or a family vacation, it’s the difference between staying in New York or joining the ranks of hard-working families who just couldn’t get by in the city they love.

As I handed Niya the keys, her eyes were filled with tears. I know that feeling as a mom — that sense of possibility that comes when you have the dignity of a home that makes you feel valued. Whether it’s converting an existing office building or investing in an area that had been left behind, like the Gowanus area, hearing stories like Niya’s remin

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