[City

Letterhead]
OF
THECouncil
COUNCIL

THE CITY OF NEW YORK

April 27, 2016

The Honorable Hillary Clinton

Hillary for President
1 Pierrepont Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Dear Secretary Clinton,
On behalf of our coalition of public housing resident leaders, advocates, community-based
organizations and elected officials, we write to sincerely thank you for answering our call to tour
a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) public housing development as a part of your
campaign in New Yorks Presidential primary, and to strengthen your commitment to address
pressing issues of affordable and public housing facing low-income families across the United
States.
Your visit to Corsi Houses in East Harlem (along with New York City Council Speaker Melissa
Mark-Viverito) helped bring national attention to the crisis facing NYCHA, including its $17
billion capital budget gap. More than that, you helped call attention to the affordable housing
crisis facing tens of millions of Americans stuck in decrepit and unhealthy homes, spending more
than half their income in rent, facing displacement from gentrification, and living in constant fear
and far too often the reality of eviction and homelessness.
We also greatly appreciate the ways in which you reiterated and strengthened your commitment
to address affordable housing issues while you were in New York, through your speech at Corsi
Houses and your Op-Ed in El Diario. The proposals in your Breaking Every Barrier platform
to boost funding for Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, invest $125 billion to infrastructure and
housing in struggling communities, expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and support fair
housing would go a long way to addressing Federal disinvestment. And we are deeply grateful for
your newly articulated commitment to fight for increased funding for public housing.
In addition to expressing our gratitude, we humbly make two additional requests:
1. We respectfully ask that representatives of your campaign meet with members of our
coalition including resident leaders from affordable and public housing throughout the
nation to discuss the inclusion of affordable housing issues in the 2016 Democratic
Party Platform to be adopted at the Democratic National Convention this summer.
2. We ask that you consider specifically including increased funding for the National
Housing Trust Fund in your platform. In your El Diario Op-Ed, you rightly pointed to
your leadership in the Senate to establishing the Trust Fund. Efforts to significantly
expand the Trust Fund are underway, and we hope that you will again be a champion for
this cause.

To arrange this meeting, we ask that your staff co-contact Mo George, NYC Chapter Director of
Organizing at CVH Power (212-860-6001, mo@CVHpower.org) and Rachel Goodman, Chief of
Staff in Council Member Brad Landers office (718-499-1090, rachelagoodman@gmail.com).
Your visit to Corsi Houses was warmly celebrated by its residents and was a meaningful step
toward addressing the crisis of affordable housing facing millions of Americans.
Thank you again for your leadership on this and so many other issues, for your dedication, and
your service to our country and best wishes for strength and sustenance in the days ahead.
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

cc:

Ann M. OLeary
Neera Tanden
Karen Persichilli Keogh