Battery Park City: A Model for Financing Low-Income Housing?

Abstract

A major policy question facing local governments today is how to provide adequate financing for low- and moderate-income housing. An increasing number of Americans are living in physically inadequate and unaffordable units, while current national housing policies emphasize minimal federal involvement and greater reliance on private sector and local government resources. The Reagan administration drastically cut federal housing subsidies and eliminated many of the tax benefits of investing in rental real estate. In addition, the administration liberalized many of the regulations governing the savings and loan industry. Some critics contend that this deregulation has made obtaining mortgages more difficult for homeowners. All of these measures have forced local governments to develop alternatives to fill the gap in financing low-income housing.