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The housing accessibility crisis in Puerto Rico is a reality that affects the quality of life for thousands of families, and nowhere is this more acute than in San Juan. Housing prices have risen dramatically, disproportionately affecting middle-income residents (especially young people) and female heads of households.
For more than 20 years, we have not seen any coherent strategy to proactively address the shortage of social housing in the capital. On the contrary, according to Habitat for Humanity, there are more than 20,000 units of public nuisance, abandoned buildings and homes in San Juan. Incredibly, of these 20,000 units, the city government has only identified 700, of which about 165 have already started providing services. Currently, only ten buildings have been declared public nuisances and only two properties have been transferred to the city government: one on Robles Street in Rio Piedras and the other on Canal Street in Santurce, both of which the city government is still evaluating for their use! It is incredible that in a city where so many people face difficulties in finding a decent place to live, these potential resources are not being used.
As Mayor of San Juan, I want to take a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to address and solve this problem. Some of my plans to increase housing supply are: supporting non-profit developers, making effective use of federal housing programs, controlling rental rates to make prices fair and reasonable, improving data collection on the short-term rental market, prioritizing economic development in St. Juan, and other short-, mid-, and long-term initiatives.
My commitment as Mayor of San Juan is to work tirelessly to implement these strategies and the others we will begin implementing on January 2 of next year. Ensuring that all residents of our capital have access to safe, accessible, and decent housing is one of my top priorities, because San Juan is better because of you.
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