Hochul Back to the Drawing Board with Housing Plans

NYS Gov. Kathy Hochul Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Wikipedia

Trying again after her attempt to usurp local zoning authority to build affordable housing was shot down by the legislature, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has rolled out a new plan to build upwards of 800,000 units over the next 10 years.

Hochul signed a raft of executive orders calling on agencies to identify areas for state-owned lands to create more housing, prioritize discretionary funds for housing projects and create a new portal for tracking housing data.

The $650 million plan for building 800,000 new homes, the governor said, will ease New York's housing crunch and improve its competitiveness at a time when the Empire State is leading the nation in outmigration of people escaping crime and high taxes. She referred to the unilateral orders as an "important first step" to expand New York's housing supply and promote economic growth.

"New York's housing crisis isn't going away, and I'm committed to doing everything in my power to make New York more affordable and livable for all," Hochul said. “But make no mistake: to fully address the scope of this crisis, we need action from the legislature — and I'm committed to continuing our work on housing in the coming months."

The governor tried during the budget process to insert legislation that would give the state the authority to override local zoning power to site affordable housing projects, an idea that was panned by village and town officials. Suburban supervisors and mayors sent a message that they didn’t want their communities to look like the densely populated areas of New York City.

“Land use and zoning is one of the fundamental responsibilities of local government, and we will not turn over these powers to Albany bureaucrats without a fight,” said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Edward Romaine. “One need only look to the west to Queens and Brooklyn to see the results of over development. While we’re in favor of creating affordable housing opportunities, we’re not in favor of letting our ability to properly develop our communities be usurped by politicians who don’t even live here.” Romaine was part of a chorus of New York supervisors and mayors who lashed out against Hochul’s plan. State lawmakers got the message and refused to approve her bill during the last legislative session.

Hochul also tried to push through a bill to allow homeowners to create apartments out of attics, garages, and accessory dwellings, an idea that was also shot down by the legislature.