Progressive NY Lawmakers May Nix Key Affordable Housing Program

Progressive NY Lawmakers May Nix Key Affordable Housing Program  

By: Ilana Siyance 

The 421-a program, one of New York City’s biggest affordable housing programs, is at risk of expiring in June without renewal.

As reported by the NY Post, progressives in Albany are opposing the legislation, saying it offers rebates to big real estate developers for creating affordable housing.  The lefties would rather continue to limit evictions instead of renew this program, though it has led to the construction of thousands of new rent-stabilized apartments.  “This is all politics. What’s going on here is the far left wants to trade it for [limiting evictions] and you’ve got people facing primaries who would prefer that nothing happen,” one veteran Albany lawmaker told the Post.

Particularly now, while rent prices continue to soar, low income families may find themselves unable to pay rent without the addition of more affordable housing in the Big Apple.  The 421-a program offers developers city property tax abatements, worth a total of roughly $1.8 billion, if they agree to limit and regulate the rent prices on a portion of the apartments in their new buildings.

Overall, the 421-a has been responsible for partially or completely funding 4,030 of the 4,279 newly rent-stabilized apartments built in NYC in the year 2020, as per data from the Rent Guidelines Board show. “In the last decade, about 8,000 affordable units were built using 421 with no subsidy,” said Vicki Been, the city’s former commissioner and deputy mayor of housing who currently leads the Furman Center at New York University. “And that’s a lot when you think about how hard it is to build new apartments, that’s a really important source.”

The units added through the 421-a tax abatements are also usually in better neighborhoods and offer better features than those constructed thanks to a subsidy.  “They are built in neighborhoods that are almost twice the median income of the neighborhoods where other affordable housing is being built,” Been said.

Still, many Democratic lawmakers say the program creates homes for middle-class families rather than the lower class. In her initial budget proposal, Gov. Kathy Hochul had included an upgraded 421-a which caps eligibility for lower incomes and also cuts the agreed upon monthly rental prices.

On Friday, Mayor Eric Adams commented that he supports the 421-a, and hopes it will be renewed.  “I think we presented a strong case on why we need to have an extension of 421-a.”  Hizzoner said. “We need to continue building the city. I’m hoping that they look at a potential extension of 421-a [of] at least a year, but it’s up to them.”