Mayor Bill de Blasio started out his first term promising to preserve or create 200,000 units of affordable housing. Then, last week, as he coasts towards what's expected to be an easy re-election, he upped the ante, to 300,000 units by 2026.

A just-in-time-for-election stunt?

"I'm sure he wants to finish strong," Jarrett Murphy, executive editor of City Limits, said. "But he didn't need to do this. I think this is more about trying to answer the question that editorial boards have had and other reporters about what the second term is going to be about.'"

Still, while de Blasio has made enough progress to make him confident about raising the target, there has been intense debate among housing circles about whether his affordable housing should be built for the lowest-income households, or for middle-class ones that are increasingly finding New York City's cost of living too high.

For more on de Blasio's housing legacy, listen to Murphy talk with WNYC host Richard Hake. For more on the election, visit WNYC's Voters Guide, produced in conjunction with City Limits and Gotham Gazette.