Housing

What to Expect in the Budget: Housing Policy

The fiscal year 2026 budget cycle is upon us and “affordability” is taking center stage. The mandate to address the rapidly rising cost-of-living in New York has never been more urgent, with consumer prices up about 20 percent since 2020. The cost of housing, in particular, has skyrocketed in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic, with home prices up over 50 percent—making housing costs the number one priority for addressing affordability in New York.

2025-01-31T14:33:57-05:00January 20th, 2025|Housing, State Budget|
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Governor Hochul’s Affordability Policy Report Card

Governor Hochul’s State of the State address made clear that “affordability” is her top priority this session. As part of her agenda, Governor Hochul and her team have put forward a set of policies intended to “put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets.”  The four major proposals include a tax cut, an “inflation rebate payment,” an expansion of the child tax credit, and fully funding free school lunches for all public-school students in the State.

2025-01-18T11:20:10-05:00January 18th, 2025|Housing, State Budget|
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The Federal Housing Policy Landscape

State housing policy relies heavily on two federal programs that support housing affordability: the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Housing Choice Vouchers (also known as “Section 8” vouchers). These two programs underpin most affordable housing construction in the US and play an important role in the provision of affordable housing in New York State.

2024-12-18T15:56:17-05:00December 9th, 2024|Blog, Featured on Home, Housing, Social Policy|
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FPI Testimony on “City of Yes”

My name is Emily Eisner, and I am an Economist working with the Fiscal Policy Institute. I am testifying in support of the “City of Yes” plan. The City must pass the zoning reforms included in City of Yes, and, in addition, the City must increase investment in housing affordability through expanded fiscal measures. These two sets of policies — zoning reform to allow for increased supply, and fiscal support for housing affordability — work together.

2024-12-26T16:42:25-05:00October 22nd, 2024|City Budget, Housing, Social Policy|
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Fact Sheet on Proposed Housing Deal

The housing deal currently under consideration in budget negotiations (as publicly reported) would create new tax incentives for affordable housing developers, weaken certain tenant protections passed in 2019, and impose a watered-down version of “Good Cause Eviction” with significant exemptions and loopholes.

2024-12-26T17:13:03-05:00April 15th, 2024|Featured on Home, Housing, Policy & Research, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax & Budget|
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The Senate’s Housing Proposal

The Senate’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal makes substantial progress toward a comprehensive, ambitious housing package. The policies included address the overall supply of housing using a combination of tax incentives for housing, changes to zoning regulations that will allow for more housing construction, and direct spending on new housing development. The Senate also allocates funds for legal services to support tenants and low-income homeowners. Finally, the Senate proposes the creation of the New York Housing Opportunity Corporation (NYHOC) to purchase and develop new affordable housing in the state.

2024-12-20T00:58:13-05:00March 26th, 2024|Featured on Home, Housing, Policy & Research, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax & Budget|
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This Year’s Housing Debate

Housing has again become a key area of negotiations in the current budget cycle. This year’s executive budget laid out a far narrower plan to address New York’s housing affordability crisis than last year’s budget proposal. Meanwhile, the Senate brought forward a new set of housing policy recommendations in its one-house budget proposal, attempting to comprehensively address the housing supply and affordability issues that currently plague the state. But what are these proposals — and are they enough to address New York’s housing crisis?

2024-12-18T16:04:38-05:00March 26th, 2024|Featured on Home, Housing, Policy & Research, State Budget, Tax & Budget|
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New York State’s Tenants Need Immediate Relief

December 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated New York State’s affordable housing crisis. This year’s high unemployment has most affected our state’s minimum wage workers and gig economy workers and has intersected with our state’s lack of safe, decent, and affordable rentals, particularly for those earning at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). To help struggling renters and protect public health, the state legislature passed the Emergency Rent Relief Act of 2020 on May 28, 2020. It created a $100 million [...]

2024-12-18T12:24:22-05:00December 18th, 2020|Blog, Housing|
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Robust Rental Assistance Needed to Protect Tenants

August 2020 Download the full brief Governor Cuomo has extended the state’s limited eviction moratorium until September 4, 2020 but the application window for the state’s $100 million COVID Rent Relief program closed on August 6, 2020. Many of New York State’s renters require assistance above and beyond the programs and protections currently in place. The COVID Rent Relief program has limitations. It will only provide up to four months of rental assistance for those earning below 80 percent of the area median income (AMI [...]

2024-12-18T12:24:35-05:00August 26th, 2020|Blog, Housing, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|
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FPI’s New Report Highlights the Unequal State of New York

For Immediate Release: December 6, 2019 Media Contact: communications@fiscalpolicy.org, 518-786-3156 The Unequal State of New York The Majority of Income is Captured by the Fewest New Yorkers Read the report: The Unequal State of New York click here. (Albany, NY) The Fiscal Policy Institute reports that New York State has the most unequal income distribution in the nation, with the fewest people capturing the greatest share. Not since the “Gilded Age” of the 1920s has our state seen such a vast divide between the highest- and [...]

2024-12-18T12:24:38-05:00December 6th, 2019|Housing, Labor Market & Workforce, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy|
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With “rent burdens” on the rise, advocates urge changes to state laws

May 1, 2019. This article looks at the problem of rent burdens in the Rochester area in advance of the NYS Assembly hearing on May 10. The article highlighted the disparities "2 out of 5 renters -- and 60% of minorities -- in the Rochester area are rent-burdened. Others upstate cities face similar numbers, but Rochester’s are the highest." A recent study by the nonpartisan Fiscal Policy Institute says nearly half of New York renters are “rent-burdened. Ron Deutsch, the group’s executive director, said housing – not [...]

2024-12-18T12:24:40-05:00May 1st, 2019|FPI in the News, Housing|
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Report: Nearly Half of New York Renting Families Are Rent-Burdened

April 29, 2019. Families should pay no more than 30 percent of their income for rent according to housing advocates. Many public agencies set their support levels to meet this standard. Unfortunately, we find that across New York State, and in some of its major cities, significant shares of families are paying more than 30 percent of their income in rent. This is especially true among families of color. Severe rent burdens can badly reduce families’ ability to pay for other important expenses, such as food or [...]

2024-12-18T12:24:40-05:00April 29th, 2019|Housing, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy|
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