Popular Democratic Party San Juan mayoral candidate Terestella González Denton
By The STAR STAFF
Popular Democratic Party (PPD) San Juan mayoral candidate Terestella González Denton on Sunday presented her affordable housing platform with housing experts, such as the former Health Secretary Ana Rius Armendáriz.
At a news conference with legislative candidates Gabriel Pérez Pérez (San Juan Senate) and Christofer Malespín (House District 3), Gonzalez Denton chided the current mayor for his inaction in easing housing shortages.
“All of us who live in our city know the urgent need for affordable housing. The housing accessibility crisis in Puerto Rico is a reality that affects thousands of families. In San Juan, this reality is felt with special intensity. Having adequate housing is a matter of dignity, stability and opportunity. When families have access to safe and affordable housing, our communities’ general well-being and financial viability is improved,” she said.
Average housing prices in San Juan have increased significantly due to limited supply, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income residents, particularly younger and women.
“This situation is aggravated by the high demand from organizations and investors seeking to be close to the attractions and infrastructure of the city. For more than 20 years, we have not seen any strategy to intelligently and strategically address the issue of the shortage of affordable housing in our capital. Increasingly, housing has become a luxury, and that must be changed because San Juan deserves more,” said the PDP candidate.
González Denton pointed out that the Municipality of San Juan currently aggravates the problem “due to the lack of vision and commitment of the current mayor, Miguel Romero Lugo, in addressing the urgent need for affordable public housing programs. Romero has demonstrated a clear inability to manage one of our city’s most pressing problems. While other cities advance in the creation of innovative housing solutions, San Juan is left behind due to lack of interest in the subject.”
For instance, she said housing classified as public eyesore could be transformed into low-cost housing for the most needy residents. “These spaces, in their current state, not only represent a danger to the community in terms of health and safety, but they are also a symbol of abandonment and inaction by this administration,” she said
According to the Habitat for Humanity organization, there are over 20,000 abandoned buildings and residences in San Juan. However, the municipality has only identified 700, of which only 165 have begun to be served. Of these, currently only ten buildings have been declared public nuisances and only two properties have passed into municipal hands: one on Robles Street in Río Piedras and another on Canals Street in Santurce. Of these two, the municipality is still evaluating the use it will give to both properties.
“If public nuisances are not identified, there is no problem. In this way, the current administration hides the reality that is experienced in all the communities of the capital because of these abandoned buildings and residences: this generates an increase in crime, as well as unsanitary conditions, vermin, garbage, debris and waste, environmental pollution, structural dangers such as risk of collapse, mental health problems and unsafe spaces for children, among others,” said the candidate for mayor.
The key to solving the housing crisis in San Juan is to take a comprehensive, multifaceted approach that addresses the root causes of the problem, including increasing the supply of housing, supporting nonprofit developers, efficiently utilizing federal housing programs, implementing rent control policies, improving data collection on the short-term rental market, and prioritizing development, she said.
The PDP candidate is proposing to promote the building of affordable and environmentally friendly homes similar to the “Via Verde” program in New York, which combines sustainability and affordability, and to provide tax incentive programs for developers of affordable and sustainable housing.
Her program calls for zoning policies that mandate the inclusion of affordable housing in new developments and require that a percentage of new residential construction be comprised by affordable housing.
She also proposed renovating and rehabilitating vacant or dilapidated homes to use them for affordable housing, as in the Homes for the Homeless in Chicago, Illinois, which focuses on abandoned buildings and residences. She said she would offer grants and low-interest loans for home renovation and would prioritize renovation projects in high-need areas.
Gonzalez Denton also proposed forming alliances between the government, the private sector, and NGOs to develop affordable housing projects.
The PDP proposal for San Juan contains programs for the needy.
Like New York’s ‘Pathways to Housing’ program, which has managed to reduce chronic homelessness, González Denton is proposing to provide temporary and then permanent housing without prerequisites and offer ongoing support in mental health, substance abuse and employment.
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