To build more, remove an obvious obstacle

Albany: The Daily News is right that New York City needs to act boldly to resolve the housing crisis (“Housing report is right that NYC must build and build,” editorial, Aug. 23). Building affordable housing at scale means politicians need to break up with wealthy special interests like the construction accident lawyers who plaster the city and MTA buses with billboards and ads. Albany has the tools to fix the costly lawsuit-magnet Scaffold Law, but it requires the courage to stand up to the trial lawyer lobby.

The only-in-New York Scaffold Law adds millions of dollars to every construction project through inflated settlements and insurance costs, much of which is alleged to be driven by fraud and exaggerated claims. Affordable housing builders have warned about these costs for years, and disaster relief organizations named the law as a barrier to rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy.

New York can’t afford to let lawyers and their lobbyists stand in the way of tackling the city’s and the state’s housing shortage. Albany should reform the Scaffold Law to curb lawyer-led fraud and unnecessary lawsuits. We can lower construction costs while preserving protections for workers. If Mayor Mamdani truly wants a housing construction boom in New York City, he should advocate for Scaffold Law reform and help make housing more affordable to build.

Tom Stebbins, executive director, Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York

Smithtown, L.I.: Whatever Voicer Michelle Brown says about “The Communist Manifesto,” Scandinavia and meliorism in response to my suggestion to tax rich renters may be true, but that wasn’t my point. Why........

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