Every indicator in New York City’s housing market is pointing in the wrong direction.

Rents are at historic highs. Foreclosure notices are climbing in Black and brown neighborhoods that never fully recovered from the last crisis. Deed theft, the predatory stripping of generational wealth from families who built their equity over decades, continues to devastate communities from Brownsville to Jamaica.

On top of all these factors, there were more than 57,000 rent-stabilized apartments sitting completely empty as of April last year. That number grew by 8,000 units in a single year, with the sharpest increases hitting Brooklyn and Queens hardest.

Brooklyn and Queens. My neighborhoods. Your neighborhoods.

You would think that news of 57,000 empty affordable apartments in the middle of a housing emergency would produce outrage, emergency hearings, and demands for accountability. Instead, New Yorkers got a collective shrug from opinion leaders.

Read that again: 57,000 families could be housed in those apartments. Households currently paying market rent, doubled up, couch-surfing, or one missed paycheck away from the street could have relief. And silence from the city’s housing leadership, activists, and coalitions.

In my experience as chair of the Subcommittee on Affordable Housing in the Assembly, that is not advocacy. That is surrender.

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These are the same voices, the same institutions, the same political class that successfully lobbied to effectively ban short-term rentals in New York City through Local Law 18. At its peak, Airbnb had roughly 20,000 listings in New York City, nearly a third the number of apartments currently sitting vacant and padlocked in the rent-stabilized system. The campaign against those listings was relentless, loud, and wrapped in the language of affordability and housing justice.

Where is that energy now?

Where are the press conferences about landlords warehousing stabilized units while families sleep in shelters? Where is the legislation with teeth? Where is the outrage that was apparently plentiful when a Black homeowner in Bed Stuy wanted to rent out her spare bedroom to make ends meet?

Because that is exactly who Local Law 18 hit hardest. Not the corporate bad actors. Not the hedge funds. The struggling homeowner, disproportionately Black, disproportionately in Brooklyn and Queens, who used their home as a small economic engine to survive in a city that grows more expensive by the month.

Those families were told their activity was destabilizing the housing market. Those families were fined, delisted, and legislated out of a livelihood. And now we learn that 57,000 stabilized units are sitting empty while rents spiral and foreclosures mount, and the response from housing advocates is essentially: that’s just how big numbers work.

This is not sound policy. This is politics. And the communities paying the price know the difference.

I have spoken with homeowners across Central Brooklyn who are barely holding on. They bought their homes, sometimes one generation removed from the Great Migration, and they have watched the equity they built become both their greatest asset and their greatest vulnerability. Predatory lenders, deed theft schemes, and rising property taxes all circle that equity like wolves.

Short-term rental income was, for many of these families, not a luxury. It was the margin between keeping the house and losing it. Local Law 18 closed that door, and the people who closed it are now waving away 57,000 empty apartments as statistical noise.

Everyone in this fight knows what needs to happen but will not say it out loud: Local Law 18 needs reform. Common sense reform. The kind that distinguishes between an investor running a ghost hotel and a homeowner renting a room. The kind that actually targets bad actors instead of penalizing the most economically vulnerable property owners in the city.

I hear it in private conversations with elected officials, with housing attorneys, with planners. The consensus is there. The political will is not, because the same advocacy groups and political donors who pushed the original law are still in the room, and nobody wants to take their call.

What this moment requires is courage, not calculation.

Every month that passes with 57,000 empty stabilized apartments is a month of families in crisis, of shelter costs ballooning, of neighborhoods destabilizing. Every month that Local Law 18 remains unreformed is another month a Black homeowner in Flatbush or Hollis faces impossible choices that wealthier New Yorkers simply never have to make.

You cannot ban the small and ignore the large. You cannot mobilize armies of lobbyists against a homeowner’s spare bedroom while shrugging at tens of thousands of warehoused affordable units. You cannot claim to stand for housing justice and then tell 57,000 families worth of empty apartments that the math just works out this way.

The hypocrisy has to stop. Politics have to give way to people. And the officials and advocates who have the power to fix this, who know what needs to be done, have to decide which side they are actually on.

Because from where I stand, in the communities I have served for decades, it is very clear who is being left out in the cold.

Dr. Annette Robinson is a former member of both the State Assembly and City Council in Brooklyn.

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By Carla Thomas

OAKLAND – A sweeping, multiphase redevelopment of the Oakland Coliseum site led by Ray Bobbitt, president of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), and businessman James “Jim” Reynolds Jr., could eventually attract between $3 billion and $5 billion in investment.

Reynolds said the first phase, estimated at $1 billion to $1.5 billion, could include housing, hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, open space and opportunities for local small businesses.

“We are going to transform the entire area with housing, hotels, with an infrastructure that benefits the community,” Reynolds said.

He also wants to attract major entertainment partners and position Oakland to compete with venues in San Francisco and San Jose. Reynolds said the city already possesses natural assets that other cities spend fortunes trying to create.

“One of the most naturally beautiful cities I’ve ever been to,” he said. “In Oakland, if you do nothing, it’s beautiful naturally: lakes, the mountains, the scenery, the open space, the weather.”

Reynolds’ vision, however, extends beyond buildings and entertainment. He is also focused on which businesses receive contracts and which residents benefit from the jobs and economic opportunities the project creates.

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Reynolds said Black and Brown contractors have historically lacked the bonding, insurance, equipment and staffing required to compete for large contracts because they were denied opportunities to expand.

“Why would you build a big business when you know no one was going to hire you to do the job?” Reynolds asked.

He recalled working with longtime business partner Earvin “Magic” Johnson to encourage minority-owned firms to compete for larger contracts. About 1,000 businesses attended one outreach event after receiving assurances that opportunities to serve as prime contractors were real.

Reynolds wants to bring the same approach to Oakland.

“I don’t need goals and set-asides to figure out how to give Black companies a chance to be a prime,” he said.

He also wants Black businesses to move beyond seeking only small portions of projects or subcontracting roles.

“When we run the concessions, we pick who has a concession,” Reynolds said, citing partnerships involving Johnson, LL Cool J and Stephen A. Smith.

The same principle should apply to construction, entrepreneurship and workforce development, he said.

“Job training and opportunities to have Blacks lead something like this matter,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds also wants young Oakland residents connected to the jobs and career pathways created by the redevelopment.

“They’re going to have jobs, job training, and opportunities to work,” Reynolds said.

He rejects assumptions that Black youth and Black-owned companies cannot manage major responsibilities.

“I’m not going to sit here like others who have been in positions like this and doubt that Black people can do certain things,” Reynolds said.

For Reynolds and Bobbitt, the Coliseum redevelopment is an opportunity to create more than a replacement for the professional sports teams Oakland lost. Bobbitt contributes deep Oakland roots, community relationships and years of persistence, while Reynolds brings capital-market experience, global business relationships and a record of structuring enormous transactions.

Together, they envision a destination that attracts visitors while creating jobs, businesses and ownership opportunities for Oakland residents.

“Thank you, Jim, for believing in Oakland and investing,” Bobbitt said.

CEO of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce Cathy Adams, who wrote a letter of support for AASEG at a time when many doubted the feasibility of their goals, said the Coliseum area development plan will become the example of how Black-owned businesses and contractors can help close the disparity gap in Oakland.

Next week, Part 2: Len Turner and local business owners can benefit.

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By Special to The Post

The premier August event in Oakland will unite business leaders, policymakers, and innovators to drive the next generation of California’s economic growth.

The California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (CHCC) has officially announced “Powering the Future” as the theme for its 47th Annual Statewide Convention. The landmark event will be held August 19-21 at the Oakland Marriott City Center in Oakland, California. 

For nearly 50 years, the CHCC has been the frontline champion of California’s small-business ecosystem. As the economic landscape evolves, “Powering the Future” signals bold momentum—emphasizing the innovation, resilience, and leadership needed to fuel the next generation of entrepreneurs and community leaders. The theme bridges the CHCC’s foundational advocacy over the past 47 years with a strategic vision for rapid economic transformation. 

Driving Innovation and Economic Influence

As California leads global trends in technology, clean energy, and entrepreneurship, Hispanic-owned businesses are at the helm. From harnessing artificial intelligence and accelerating digital transformation to pioneering sustainable practices, Latino entrepreneurs are actively shaping tomorrow’s industries.

“Hosting this convention in Oakland is deeply meaningful,” said Noel Gallo, who represents Council District 5. “Approximately 28% of Oakland’s population is Latino, and their contributions shape every aspect of our civic, cultural, and economic life.”

Latino‑owned businesses are central to our city’s growth; they drive job creation, revitalize commercial corridors, strengthen neighborhood identity, and contribute to innovation across sectors including construction, hospitality, education, retail, arts, professional services, and more, Gallo asserts.

“These enterprises do more than generate revenue; they anchor family legacies, nurture community pride, and create spaces where culture and commerce meet,” Gallo said.

“Following a period of significant economic transformation, ‘Powering the Future’ is more than a theme—it is a collective call to action,” said Julian Cañete, president and CEO of the CHCC. “Our businesses and future leaders aren’t merely adapting to change; they are driving it. This convention will showcase the innovation and leadership needed to build a stronger, more prosperous California for generations to come.”

Cañete is also excited to have Oakland as the organization’s host city. Noting Oakland’s historical significance and deep-rooted diversity “From its legacy as center of social movements to its modern identity as a hub for innovation, sustainability, and small business growth, Oakland embodies the resilience and creativity that define our state,” Cañete added. “We are proud to contribute to this dynamic community’s ongoing momentum and economic vitality.” 

Three Days of Impact, Connection, and Advocacy

The CHCC Annual Convention empowers Hispanic and diverse businesses and communities while fostering connections and advancing economic opportunities. The convention features impactful presentations on business development, current business trends, economic and community development, and policy-oriented discussions.

Attendees can connect with business leaders, thought leaders, elected officials, and other Hispanic and diverse small business and community leaders. Participants establish strategic, long-lasting partnerships through direct personal engagement, best-practice sharing, interactive dialogue, networking workshops, and more.

The agenda includes an annual business matchmaking program, dynamic panels and speakers, an exhibition hall, awards ceremonies, and meal events highlighting the remarkable achievements of Hispanic and diverse businesses and communities.

The CHCC Annual Awards celebrate Hispanic and diverse companies and communities for their hard work, ingenuity, dedication, and contributions to California’s economy. The CHCC Annual Convention also aims to advance a diverse supply chain and create expanded business opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs and communities.  

The Oakland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is the source for this report.

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