THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Rafael and Kirk kick off season 5 with Alec Schierenbeck, executive director of the NYC Charter Revision Commission to give voters a primer on the major housing measures on the ballot this Election Day.

Rafael and Kirk talk to Deborah VanAmerongen of Nixon Peabody about Mitchell Lama. What is it, how close did Timothee Chalamet come to getting it right, and is Mitchell Lama 2.0 the easy solution so many NY politicians think it is?

Rafael and Kirk talk to Andrew Kimball, President and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, better known as EDC.

Rafael and Kirk talk to Doug Apple, chair of the Rent Guidelines Board, about the contentious process of deciding what owners of NYC's 1 million rent stabilized apartments can charge tenants. Plus, managing scarcity and the 2019 rent stabilization law.

Rafael and Kirk talk to former New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson about what the Wall Street Journal called "the city that defied NIMBY." They dive into how the New Rochelle model works and if it can be replicated.

Rafael and Kirk talk to Molly Park, commissioner of NYC's Department of Social Services, about the real drivers of homelessness in New York, the city's unique right to shelter, and how to house our neighbors with the most acute mental health challenges. Also, supportive housing, how to improve rental assistance, and using project-based vouchers to create homes.

Rafael and Kirk talk to Open NY Executive Director Annemarie Gray about a wide range of topics, including faith-based housing, zoning reform, the state's role in pushing towns to legalize homes, and the growing political clout of the YIMBY movement.

Rafael and Kirk talk to firefighter-turned-developer Ken Kearney about his unusual journey and what it takes to break into housing development from scratch.

Mayor Eric Adams just created a Charter Revision Commission focused on making it easier to build housing. Rafael and Kirk give their hot take, including who's on it, what changes the Commission could propose, and the use of executive power in a housing emergency.

Rafael and Kirk talk to Kathy Wylde, president & CEO of the Partnership for NYC, about City of Yes, why it's so expensive to build housing, and the economic toll the housing problem takes on cities like New York.