Housing should be a public good, but corporate developers and landlords who use it for profit have made it a scarce commodity. Affordable housing wait times range from 19-44 weeks. We must rewrite the rules to bring good, stable housing to all.

• Fight for a Green New Deal for Housing to create a state housing authority that will build high quality 21st century social housing for New Yorkers to live in—not investment vehicles for companies to turn into AirBNBs. While some non-profits are doing important work to fill in the gaps, we need a massive public undertaking to truly meet our needs.
• Expand and fully fund the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act, a law that allows the state to convert distressed commercial real estate into supportive and affordable housing.
• Eliminate tax breaks, such as PILOT PROGRAMs, that drive luxury development and displacement. The 421a tax break for NYC developers alone cost the whole state $4 billion annually.
• Rewrite the state’s zoning laws which restrict options for affordable housing such as turning single-family homes into safe and legal multi-family dwellings with accessory dwelling units (S4547/A4854), or distressed commercial spaces into affordable housing.
• Fund initiatives that would allow seniors to add accessory dwelling units to their single-family homes.
• Grow public sector jobs and fair labor agreements to increase capacity for affordable housing construction after a two-decade slump, which would need to ramp up construction 60% to meet the state’s housing needs
• Support and expand community land trusts.

More than half of tenants in District 103 pay over a third of their income in rent. And almost a third pay over half their income in rent. Additionally, short term AirBnBs are raising costs even more and replacing long-term housing.

• Give tenants the right to remain and renew their lease by passing Good Cause Eviction, which makes evictions unlawful unless the tenant has broken specific rules, such as non-payment.
  • This bill would impact 37,000 renters in Ulster and Dutchess Counties, where exorbitant rent hikes have been used to evict tenants.
  • Several towns and cities in District 103 have passed this law, but it must be passed at the State level for effective implementation.
• Prevent displacement and expand our social housing stock by passing the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, which gives tenants the first opportunity to collectively purchase their building if it’s being sold.

Rent has been outpacing wage increases in AD103. Around 92,000 New Yorkers do not have a permanent address. While we reimagine affordable housing, we must provide relief in the meantime.

• The Housing Access Voucher Program would subsidize vouchers for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and support low-income renters at risk of losing their housing. This initiative was not funded in our latest budget.
• Additional funding for the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, including Mental Health Housing, to ensure that essential housing programs are serving New Yorkers in need.
• Expand and improve the Emergency Rental Assistance Program until the pandemic-induced housing crisis has subsided.