The 2023 legislative session was anticipated as New York’s opportunity to tackle its housing crisis, yet lawmakers left Albany with minimal progress. Global migration to New York City overloaded its homeless shelters, high interest rates hindered apartment construction, and the expiration of a tax break, known as 421a, threatened to exacerbate the housing shortage. Amid these growing issues, the 2024 legislative session will face similar challenges in addressing the state’s dire housing situation.
Several factors stand in the way of progress. State officials’ ambitious plans in 2023 were scuttled by opposition from the real estate industry and tenants’ rights advocates, as well as a lack of political coalition building. Governor Kathy Hochul’s plans for state-led reform also had to confront resistance from the affluent Long Island and Westchester suburbs. A key district, indicated to play a pivotal role in resolving the housing crisis, is also divided, with tenant and landlord factions unable to support a unified housing plan.
Governor Hochul’s efforts to reform the tax incentive faced opposition from the real estate industry, while progressive caucus lawmakers demanded that tenant protections be part of any housing plan. In the absence of a consensus, Hochul refrained from reintroducing the housing plan in the 2024 session.
Ms. Hochul’s plan, a key part of which was the suburban housing mandates, seemed untoward of obtaining support in the State Legislature. The new governor and her administration had not adequately built a coalition, and the overly ambitious approach ultimately fragmented.
Mayor Eric Adams, meanwhile, recently pressed for an affordable housing plan. Notable support appeared from city-based progressive lawmakers who suggested willingness to compromise in exchange for a broader housing reform. Hochul also showed willingness to discuss tenant protections as part of a new tax break for developers, prompting a question about hampering the push for more transformational housing legislation.
Contrarily, the Real Estate Board of New York has vocalized its opposition to good cause eviction and is skeptical of proposals seen as workable. Without a new, multiyear approach, the prospects of strengthening the state’s housing situation remain unclear. Governor Hochul may be unable to fulfill her affordable housing promises and issue larger reforms. Even if incremental developments may lead to broader coalition building, the challenges in defusing the state’s housing crisis remain.
The 2024 legislative session-convened to address this critical issue-stands at the crossroads of political opposition, coalition-building ambiguity, and the unresolved debate over a comprehensive housing plan.
Annemarie Gray, executive director of Open New York, a housing development supporter opined that smaller, pro-growth measures that “broaden coalitions and momentum towards larger reforms” may offer the most pragmatic interim measure.
No party, it seems, has found and proposes a real feasible solution to this pressing issue. Will the legislature be able to put these problems aside and finally deliver?
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