New York City is in the midst of an affordability crisis. Housing and food costs are up, and people are worried about how they are going to make ends meet. As pastors who lead congregations in the city’s most populous boroughs (Brooklyn and Queens, respectively), we hear from members all the time that the money they’re making simply isn’t enough to keep them in the city.
New York City is building affordable housing, but the issue is that much of the housing being constructed doesn’t fit the needs that exist. Building studios and one-bedroom apartments will never address the multi-generational needs of families. To make matters worse, some of the workers building the low-income housing cannot afford to live in the city they are helping to build. This is why we, and a number of other pastors who lead congregations in New York City, are in vocal support of the Construction Justice Act, which would pay a $40 per hour minimum wage on all low-income housing construction projects. In this economy, $40 per hour won’t make you rich, but it will help families afford rent, groceries, and healthcare, and provide peace of mind at a time of growing uncertainty.
The Construction Justice Act would also require affordable-housing contractors to make best efforts to hire at least 30% of workers from high-poverty areas or NYCHA housing. The bill’s local hire provision is critical. Wealth exists in New York City, but it’s concentrated in a few neighborhoods. Living in a higher-income neighborhood often means everything from more and better grocery store options to newer, better equipped parks; more after-school programs and extra-curricular activities for children — the list goes on and on. Through the bill’s provisions, more New Yorkers would have money to invest in their communities in real time because they would have access to the careers that lift people out of poverty.
We know that the construction industry overwhelmingly provides employment opportunities for immigrants and justice-affected New Yorkers. When we speak with mothers, wives, and grandmothers of members of our community who have either just gotten home or will be returning home soon, one of their top concerns is a loved one’s ability to secure gainful employment. It’s no secret that for so many of these brothers and sisters, the lack of employment options once they return home are limited. Construction work provides options, and the passage of the Construction Justice Act would mean that livable, family-sustaining wages and the possibility of affording healthcare and working toward a pension would be within reach.
With all of these benefits, you’d think the Construction Justice Act would have passed by now, right? Let’s add to the equation that the bill, sponsored by Bronx Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, is supported by 42 other members of the City Council. The bill also has the support of unions like the Mason Tenders District Council, which includes Laborers Locals 66, 78, 79, and 108; District Council 37 AFSCME; and SEIU 32BJ.
The bill also has the support of community groups like the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, El Puente, Mekong NYC, New York Communities for Change, and others — groups that look like New York City. What’s needed is City Council approval and to be signed into law. The votes are there; the bill just has to be posted, passed, and signed.
We appeal to City Council leadership to prioritize this bill, which literally has the ability to lift the living standard for all New Yorkers. It has been said that as New York goes, so does the nation. It’s time to step up and show ourselves strong and resilient in protecting the workers who build New York City. As pastors, we view the Bible as our instruction manual for navigating life. We can look to Proverbs 3:27–28, which instructs us to “not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.”
We can also look to Romans 4, which says, “for the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due.” We have an obligation, and the ability, to fairly compensate the workers who work on New York City’s affordable housing construction projects. Now is the time to post, pass, and sign the Construction Justice Act. Hardworking New York City families cannot afford to wait.
Rev. Dr. David L. Kelley II is senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Brooklyn. Bishop Mitchell Gordon Taylor, Sr., is senior pastor of Center of Hope International in Queens & co-founder and president of Urban Upbound.
