Few New Yorkers pay attention to the inner workings of the legislature in Albany but they probably should as it impacts everything from housing, school budgets, Medicaid and whether prisons will remain open. And there are billions of dollars at play.
Last month, Governor Hochul proposed a $233 billion budget for 2024 and both the Senate and Assembly countered with plans of their own to the tune of $246 billion. For a breakdown of the Governor, Senate and Assembly’s budget proposal, click here. Between now and April 1 (the budget deadline), lawmakers will negotiate—largely in secret and with little to no transparency—how the state’s billions will be spent.
A few takeaways from the Senate budget regarding important housing issues include:
- A willingness on the part of the Senate to remain “open to further discussing” a new tax exemption for multifamily construction, which would replace the expired 421-a abatement. Not much can be made of this language as it suggests a perfunctory commitment in line with something as mundane as upgrading the bathrooms at the Capitol Building. Unfortunately, there is much more at stake.
- The plan to replace 421-a would involve stricter income requirements for those affordable units and tie developer incentives to, among other things, a housing package that includes the core principles of good cause eviction. Good cause eviction, however, is likely a deal breaker for more moderate lawmakers as it effectively creates caps on rental increases for free market apartments. And that is downright un-American.
- Localities would be allowed to legalize basement apartments to generate additional housing. A step in the right direction albeit a small measure that doesn’t move the needle much.
- The bill includes a $40 million fund to rehabilitate vacant rent stabilized apartments and an increase on the $15,000 cap for individual apartment improvements (IAI) but it was not clear by how much that cap would increase. The $40 million sum is laughable and here’s why: assuming an average renovation cost of $50,000 per apartment (a very conservative estimate as the costs can easily exceed $100,000), the fund would provide funding for approximately 800 units. Recent estimates put the number of vacant rent stabilized apartments in NYC in the tens of thousands. Both of these proposals, like the 421-a replacement, are tied to the implementation of a housing package that includes some sort of good cause eviction.
Website Source: Jones, S. (2024, March 12). New York Senate Includes 421-a Replacement, Good Cause In Budget Proposal. Bisnow. https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/affordable-housing/421a-senate-proposal-2024-123286#:~:text=The%20New%20York%20Senate%20revealed,new%20housing%20in%20the%20state.
Be First to Comment