Even the Democrat Governor could not be effective on the last day (June 8) of the State legislature. Housing as an example…
Any hope of substantive housing policy coming out of Albany this year is all but dead, after Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins announced that they had reached a deal themselves but couldn’t get Governor Kathy Hochul on board.
Heastie and Stewart-Cousins, who each control Democratic supermajorities in their respective chambers, said on Thursday — officially the final day of the state legislative session — that they had reached a consensus of sorts on a broad housing program that would enact, among other things:
- Good Cause Eviction, which would limit rent increases statewide and require landlords provide legal justifications before evicting tenants.
- Housing Access Voucher Program, a new rental subsidy for homeless New Yorkers.
- A plan enabling the conversion of underutilized commercial property to residential use.
- A program providing legal representation in Housing Court during eviction proceedings.
- An extension of the 421-A tax break for real estate developers.
The legislative leaders say they could not reach an agreement with the governor on enacting new housing policy, and implied Hochul had put too much focus on spurring housing construction at the expense of new protections for tenants. Previously, housing policy was a major plank of this year’s state budget negotiations, but a budget was ultimately passed without any new substantive housing policy.
– Ben Brachfeld, amNewYork
Read full story at amny.com.