[Reason] Politicians who declare housing a human right rarely include in that a right to actually build housing.Take New York Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou (D–Lower Manhattan) who just co-wrote an op-ed arguing that every New Yorker should be guaranteed a home—while also suing to stop the construction of an affordable housing complex in her district.
In a Wednesday piece for the New York Daily News, Niou and activist Feliz Guzman argue that the Saturday murder of four homeless people in New York City could have been prevented by more government spending on housing and social services.
"If they had been housed, four of our neighbors would very likely still be with us today," they write. "We must choose to guarantee every New Yorker the right to a safe and affordable home to prevent a tragedy like this one from ever happening again." Niou and Guzman call out both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio for falling short of their own promises to build affordable housing: