Legislation introduced in the City Council on Thursday would require a prevailing wage be paid on many construction projects that receive public benefits, potentially slowing affordable housing development across the boroughs.

Passage of the measure would hand labor unions and worker-rights advocates an enormous win. Many builders across the city would be forced to hire a union workforce, or at least meet the requirements set by the city comptrollers office for prevailing wage.

In the end, the government would have to commit to providing more subsidy or accept that fewer affordable apartments would be built, said Jerilyn Perine, executive director of the Citizens Housing & Planning Council.

The group has studied the issue and published a 19-page white paper on the potential effect of prevailing wage on affordable housing. It found that total development costs could rise 25 percent, pushing the cost of an apartment up by hundreds of dollars per month.

Read more in Politico.