New York Construction Report staff writer
More than 100 business and nonprofit leaders from across the state say they support the New York Housing Compact – a strategy announced in the city’s 2024 executive budget to address the housing crisis and build 800,000 new homes in the next decade.
“A mandate-based, statewide framework that ends exclusionary zoning practices, encourages dense housing in transit-rich areas, and ensures all neighborhoods do their part to increase housing opportunities is essential for addressing the depth of the crisis and increasing leverage for renters,” said Annemarie Gray, executive director at Open New York.
Gov. Kathy Hochul released the “New York Housing Compact” in February, saying it offers policies that aim to combat housing shortages and affordability issues in New York State by implementing growth targets, focusing on transit-oriented development, modifying zoning laws and introducing tax subsidy programs.
The plan will incentivise and empower private commercial real estate developers, lowering rental and housing prices, boosting activity in central business districts and offering greater diversification and safeguards against future downturns that may face commercial developers and investors.
“Ending postwar bans on apartments near transit downstate is the only way to simultaneously build our way out of the housing shortage, restore MTA ridership, protect the environment from transportation emissions, and stanch the decades-long outflow of New Yorkers to easy-building states like Texas, Arizona, and Florida,” said Alex Armlovich, senior housing policy analyst, Niskanen Center. “We cannot build back better after COVID unless we legalize building again–and the Housing Compact would do just that.”
Backed by critical funding commitments and a focus on transit-oriented development, the strategy also would maximize existing housing supply, remove numerous regulatory barriers, and provide incentives that encourage the type of housing creation that is good for the economy and climate, and the advancement of housing equity statewide.
“Our industry fully supports its ambitious and achievable agenda, and its policies designed to spur both housing and workforce development,” said Carlo A. Scissura, Esq. president and CEO, New York Building Congress. “The Building Congress just this week took a deeper dive into one of its proposals, with our detailed report on transit-oriented development aimed at denser, walkable neighborhoods with high job access.”
The full list of organizations supporting the plan:
- Adirondack Experience
- Adirondack Health
- Affordable Housing Partnership of the Capital Region
- Albany Black Chamber of Commerce
- Alliance for Manufacturing and Technology
- Alternative Federal Credit Union
- Amherst Chamber of Commerce
- Arbor Development
- Artport Kingston
- Baldwin Richardson Foods
- Bardavon Opera House
- Bassett Healthcare
- Belmont Housing Resources for WNY
- Bronx Chamber of Commerce
- Buffalo Urban League
- Business Council of Westchester
- BUSINESS FOR GOOD
- Chez Lãa Reine Boutique
- Citizens Housing and Planning Council
- CJF Realty
- Community Foundation of Oneida & Herkimer Counties
- Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, Inc.
- Community Missions of Niagara Frontier, Inc
- Construction Industry Council of New York Staate
- CRFS, LLC
- Designatronics
- Destination Niagara
- EAC Network
- Edgemere Development Inc.
- Ellicottville Brewing Company
- ERASE Racism
- Farmingdale State College
- First Ward Action Council
- Forme Medical Center
- Fresh Catch
- Gaetano Construction, a Division of A. Pike Company
- Galesi Group
- GAM I ENTERPRISES LLC
- Genesis Group
- GMDC
- Golden Artists Colors
- Greater Binghamton Realtors Association
- Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce
- Greyston
- Habitat for Humanity NYS
- Habitat for Humanity, Capital District
- Habitat NYC & Westchester
- Home HeadQuarters Inc.
- Housing Help Inc.
- Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc.
- Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp
- Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services
- JLD ADVISORY
- JMC Marketing Communications & PR
- Kearney Realty & Development
- Konar Properties
- Lahinch Group
- Lantern Organization
- LiveOn NY
- LMN Printing
- Long Island African Amercian Chamber of Commerce
- M-Ark Project
- Minority Millennials, Inc.
- Mohawk Valley Association of Realtors
- Mohawk Valley EDGE
- Mohawk Valley Health System
- Neighbors Link
- New York Building Congress
- New York State Fair Housing Network
- New York Neighbors
- New York State Association of Affordable Housing
- New York State Council of Churches
- Newlab
- Niskanen Center
- North Atlantic Industries
- Northern Lights
- NY Hospitality Group
- Open New York
- P.A. Environmental Corporation
- Pal-O-Mine
- Parkview Development
- Partnership for New York City
- People Inc.
- Plati Niagara
- Rabideau Corp
- Regional Plan Association
- Rochester Downtown Development Corp
- ROOST – The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism
- Rosenblum Development Corp
- Rosendale Theatre Collective
- RUPCO, Inc.
- Satur Farms LLC
- Schuyler County Partnership
- SEEQC
- SolEpoxy
- Soter Technologies, Inc.
- South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp
- Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation
- TAP, Inc.
- The ARC Lexington
- The Building & Realty Institute of Westchester
- The Community Builders
- The Council of Industry
- The Livia Equipment and Rental Networx Center, LLC, DBA The Learn Center
- Three Rivers Development
- Troy Rehabilitation & Improvement Program
- Up for Growth
- Unbroken Promise Initiative
- United Way of Greater Rochester & the Finger Lakes
- Universal Hip Hop Museum
- Urban Fork
- Westchester County Association
- Westhab, Inc
- Wolfspeed
