Gov. Hochul drops core of ambitious housing plan as budget talks drag on

Gov. Kathy Hochul is backing off a key piece of her ambitious housing plan that would have forced local governments to meet production targets or force the state to take over.

The concession on an update she sought to include in the state budget comes after state lawmakers consistently resisted measures that would give the state the power to override local zoning decisions in towns that fail to reach specific housing goals.

Hochul called for town-by-town targets to stimulate development, with New York City suburbs and community districts required to increase their housing stock by 3%, or half that number if units were reserved for low- and middle-income residents. Hochul’s proposal came with a warning: The state could step in and approve new construction in places that did not meet the target.

Suburban lawmakers immediately lined up against the idea, saying it eroded local control and stoked fears about massive development in quiet communities.

In a statement first reported by NY1 on Tuesday, Hochul said she continues to support her plan to impose production targets despite legislative opposition. She criticized the state Legislature’s push to provide financial incentives to local governments to spur housing growth, rather than allowing the state to override local control.

But Hochul also signaled behind-the-scenes negotiations — which have now stretched 18 days beyond the state’s budget deadline — are now focused on “other,” more modest, housing proposals, like lifting a cap on housing density in the five boroughs.

“We have not yet come to a final agreement, but it remains clear that merely providing incentives will not make the meaningful change that New Yorkers deserve,” Hochul said in a statement. “I will continue to discuss other elements of the plan and policy changes that will increase supply and make housing more affordable.”

Hochul had highlighted the slow pace of housing development in the suburbs and many parts of New York City, which is fueling affordability and mass homelessness crises. For most of the last decade, New York City added five new jobs for each new housing unit, according to a 2020 analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission. Across the Hudson River, New Jersey suburbs produce five times more housing than Long Island, according to city data reported by New York Focus.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) didn’t speak to reporters early Tuesday afternoon after leaving a private meeting in Hochul’s office at the Capitol.

Hochul and Democratic legislative leaders have struggled to reach consensus on a state budget that will likely exceed $225 billion when approved. The fiscal plan was due ahead of the start of New York’s fiscal year on April 1, making it the latest state budget since 2010, when talks stretched into August.

The governor’s original budget proposal included her housing plan, an increase in New York City charter schools and a measure to scale back the state’s 2019 bail reforms, all of which have been resisted by the Democratic-led Senate and Assembly.

Negotiations have taken place entirely behind closed doors. Hochul, Stewart-Cousins and Heastie have spent most of their time on housing and bail negotiations, the legislative leaders said last week.

Rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, are pushing for any housing plan to include stronger protections for tenants, as well as state-funded vouchers that could help income-eligible families pay their rent.

Some of those lawmakers are backing what’s known as “good cause” eviction protections, which would limit annual rent increases and prevent private landlords from evicting tenants without a specific reason.

“If good cause and (Housing Access Voucher Program) aren’t part of the deal, then we can’t accept it!” Brooklyn Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest tweeted on Tuesday.

Pro-housing groups denounced the decision to leave the enforcement plan out of the state budget and said letting localities off the hook would only deepen the affordable housing crisis.

“A successful housing program must include shared responsibility with clear goals for every community and a robust set of options for meeting those goals,” said Regional Plan Association President and CEO Tom Wright.

Rachel Fee, the executive director of the New York Housing Conference, said housing restrictions, like zoning rules throughout much of Long Island, are locking out low- and middle-income residents, especially people of color.

“New York’s elected officials have once again let their constituents down and signaled that the ongoing housing emergency is acceptable,” Fee said.

But opponents of the zoning override proposal welcomed news that the state will likely lay off.

Rene Hill, a vice president of Queens Civic Congress and former chairperson Queens Community Board 12 chairperson, said the housing production plan would lead to overdevelopment in communities like Addisleigh Park, characterized by predominantly Black single-family homeowners.

“It didn’t make sense to have a blanket proposal like that,” Hill said. “It wasn’t to benefit the homeless, it was to benefit developers and to help the real estate community make money.”

Long Island Assemblymember Ed Ra, a Republican, said he welcomed the apparent concession, but he said he remains concerned about another part of Hochul’s plan that would essentially rezone areas around transit stations to allow for easier housing development.

“I'm happy to hear that it seems to be falling out,” Ra said. “I'm not going to quite declare victory until I know what the final budget looks like.”

Rockland County Executive Ed Day, a Republican who had threatened to sue if Hochul’s plan had been put in place, said he’s glad to hear it appears to be off the table. He said Hochul’s plan did too much to cut out the local government officials who would have had to put it into action.

“If she had tried to implement this, it wouldn’t have worked and I think it would have been embarrassing for her,” Day said.

This story has been updated to clarify Hochul’s original intentions around the zoning measure.