Letters to the Editor
Abolish City Residency Law

To the Editor:

The recent diversion of even more money by the Central Labor Council to "assist" members in paying for housing in the city brings to light, once again, the absurdity of the city residency requirement.

The city's policy of forcing a hefty percentage of municipal workers to live in the city leads to a massive increase in local housing demand, which, combined with the many artificial constraints and restrictions on building, raises rents and ownership costs for everyone trying to live here.

While I'm very pleased to see that the city and District Council 37 are finally starting to address this issue, permit me to emphasize it affects each and every New Yorker, not just municipal employees.

Increasing the housing demand by 50,000 or so units (no one seems able to count nor confirm exactly how many city workers are "exempt," either by statute or by a de facto policy of indifference) raises the prices not only for city workers but also for every single other person looking to live in the five boroughs.

Additionally, since public school seats are one of the highest per-capita residential expenses, forcing people to live in the five boroughs dramatically increases municipal school expenditures, leading to more need for tax increases.

The residency requirement is a lose-lose proposition for everyone except a handful of landlords. It's way past the time for it to fade into history.

DANNY BURSTEIN

Editor's note: Mr. Burstein is a former Emergency Medical Service worker.