LIBOR Members Join NYSAR Lobby Day: State Budget, Possible Housing Deal Still in Limbo

With the 2024-2025 New York State Budget looming and continued hope for a breakthrough deal on housing policy, LIBOR members joined REALTORS® from across New York on Wednesday to visit our local members of the State Senate and Assembly. This includes over a dozen Nassau and Suffolk legislators and a record number of appointments with Queens’ state representatives to discuss critical issues facing both the real estate profession and all New Yorkers: build more housing for middle- and working-class residents, make it easier to afford a home for the first time, and require a fairer process to apply for a co-op, amongst many other items.

"The $233 billion budget proposal Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to land this week is facing headwinds in a state roiled with division over the migrant crisis, an ideological split inside the Democratic Party over crime and political complexities to expand housing and help tenants," reported Politico. "Democratic Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, a Long Island lawmaker, said housing is a 'tough conversation' because of the competing interests. Lawmakers want a combination of tenant protections as well as support for developers to build. 'There’s a housing crisis all across this country,' she said. 'The president was just talking about the housing crisis just recently. So in New York, we have an opportunity to present a model that not only tackles affordability and tenant protections but also adheres to diverse communities.'"