After years of stretching their budgets to cover basic expenses, New York City’s working families are at the breaking point. Despite long hours and multiple jobs, too many hard working men and women still find themselves struggling to pay the bills, take their kids to the doctor and put aside a few dollars for holiday gifts. In fact, more than three million New Yorkers are trying to make ends meet on low incomes.

There has never been a greater need for making the most of our tax dollars and promoting smart economic development. New York City must put forward new policies that will help get working families through these tough times.

To start, tax money spent on City development and public contracting should create good jobs that come with family-sustaining wages and health care benefits. A City-wide policy mirroring the requirements at Willets Point and Hunters Point, which set wage and benefit standards for new jobs, would ensure developers cannot make their money off City-funded projects without providing the good jobs New Yorkers desperately need.

Creating a green, sustainable New York City will also provide a long-term investment in our City’s future. With existing buildings projected to contribute more than 85 percent of the City’s carbon emissions and energy usage by 2030, mandating green retrofitting as well as requiring new developments to follow environmental standards is a win-win solution. We should create good new jobs in this growing industry, while reducing wasteful energy usage and helping the environment.

Creating a livable City for working families will help New York thrive again. Mandating inclusionary zoning in housing developments will ensure working New Yorkers can find affordable apartments without leaving the City, and improving transportation service will help New Yorkers get to work. Increasing child care and pre-K programs will help give our kids a head start and give parents the opportunity to hold onto steady jobs.

Good jobs are the foundation for healthy families and communities, and without the wages and benefits their families need, many New Yorkers remain on unsteady ground. New York City can turn this economic crisis into an opportunity by redefining the City’s economic development agenda, investing in the future – and giving New Yorkers a New Deal. Creating good jobs and making our City prosperous for all is a winning way to get through these tough times and provide the framework for a healthy future.

Representing more than 70,000 property service workers in New York City, 32BJ is the largest private sector union in New York.