The “City of Yes” proposal would increase the housing supply in New York City by approximately 100,000 units by 2039. Without increased housing supply, New York City is at risk of economic stagnation and possible decline.
A Primer for State and Local Policymakers
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.
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.
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.
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?
The typical family that moves out of New York State saves 15 times more from lower housing costs than they do from lower taxes. Of the top twenty largest county-to-county moves out of New York State, annual mortgage costs are on average $18,300, or 34 percent, lower outside New York.
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
For Immediate Release: April 29, 2019 Media Contact: communications@fiscalpolicy.org, 518-786-3156 (Albany, NY) Today the Fiscal Policy Institute released a new report “Nearly Half of New York Renters Are Rent Burdened” (add link) showing a majority of renting families statewide are “rent-burdened” meaning that they pay over the recommended standard of 30% of their income in rent – and for families of color that percentage climbs even higher. FPI cautions that the effects of rent burdens hurt families, local communities, and the state. With the state [...]
April 11, 2019. This article covered a demonstration highlighting local support for rent regulation by the Rochester Housing Coalition, members of the City-Wide Tenant Union, the Rochester Homeless Union, VOCAL-NY, House of Mercy, and St. Joseph's House of Hospitality participated in the event, which began at the Liberty Pole and ended at the former Hotel Cadillac, where numerous low-income tenants were evicted last year so building owners DHD Ventures could renovate the property. Legislation has been introduced in Albany that strengthen tenant protections allow cities across the [...]
The analysis from the Fiscal Policy Institute, based on Census Bureau data, looks at affordability in the state’s six largest cities. It shows that 38 percent of Buffalo’s renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, with a quarter of the city’s renters spending more than 40 percent. The federal government sets 30 percent as the upper limit for housing that’s deemed "affordable," meaning more than a third of Buffalo’s residents can’t really afford the rental housing they are living in. That [...]