NYS Budget: Governor Announces "Historic" Housing Agreement (Passage Pending, Of Course)

Monday, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) announced what she called a "historic agreement" with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-The Bronx) and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) to "address New York’s housing crisis by creating a new 485x tax incentive for affordable housing; extending the 421a incentive for projects already in the pipeline; making it easier to convert unused office space into affordable housing; eliminating outdated density caps in New York City; unlocking the potential of units that have been vacant since 2019; establishing a new law to protect tenants from price gouging."

The three-way deal would also include New York State "creating a statewide tax incentive for multi-family housing; making $650 million in discretionary funds exclusively available to Pro-Housing Communities; providing incentives for communities that want more accessory dwelling units; investing $500 million to develop up to 15,000 new housing units on State-owned sites; and protecting homeowners from deed theft," summarized the Governor's press release.

Compromise does often leave much to be desired: "When the details of the deal became public Friday evening, nobody was happy. Real estate groups like the Rent Stabilization Association and the Community Housing Improvement Program, tenant activists like Housing Justice for All, and progressive Democrats like city Comptroller Brad Lander all denounced the package," reported The City, and Newsday.