Each year, in consultation with our Advisory Board, New York Housing Conference establishes annual policy priorities for affordable housing regulatory and budgetary issues at the City, State and Federal levels, which guide our advocacy and education programming throughout the year. Our full agenda for 2018 budgetary, statutory and policy recommendations can be downloaded here. Be an advocate in 2018, bring it with you to meetings with legislators!

Focus on Federal Advocacy
We plan to continue centering our work around federal advocacy to ensure we are protecting housing programs, which are critical to addressing New York’s affordable housing crisis and to supporting New York’s robust affordable housing preservation and development pipeline. We will highlight how HUD Programs work to address housing need for vulnerable populations while also stimulating local economies.  We will seek opportunities to advance the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act and offset the equity loss due to the lowering of the corporate tax rate in tax reform. In line with our successful federal work last year, we will continue:

  • Convening monthly Federal Update Call to share information and organize with other NY housing organizations.
  • Communicating regularly with Congressional staff, NHC and other national housing organizations. Email us if you would like to participate in Capitol Hill meetings- it is always great to be joined by practitioners!
  • Engaging the NY Congressional Delegation, Heads of City & State Housing Agencies and affordable housing leaders in a discussion of federal strategy and priorities in the annual NYHC Congressional Delegation Affordable Housing Policy Breakfast to be held in the spring.
  • Producing communication material to show the impact of housing programs in NY State.

Fight to Preserve Public Housing
NYHC will advocate for increased funding for strategic capital repairs for public housing at the City, State and Federal Levels. A recent analysis concluded that $25 Billion dollars worth of capital improvements are needed to ensure decent, safe and healthy living conditions for NYCHA residents.  For New York City, public housing is an important part of the city’s infrastructure and a vital component of affordable rental stock in a tight housing market. We are seeking a combined annual commitment from the City and State of $500M for NYCHA. At the federal level, we will advocate for additional capital and fight against possible rent reform and time limit proposals. We also support the launch of a new program to reallocate unused volume cap between states.  Our work will include:

  • Advocating for funding at the City, State and Federal levels.
  • Participating in the RAD Round Table- Also known as the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) – this group shapes NYCHA’s implementation of HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration(RAD) program.
  • Producing communication material, including a new infographic to show Public Housing as a large and vital component of NYC’s affordable housing stock.

Advocate for NY State Rental and Homeownership Opportunities
Last year, we successfully advocated for the Statewide Affordable Housing Plan. This year we will be advocating to protect the Affordable Housing Plan’s funding and supporting policy changes that would facilitate the successful implementation of the Housing Plan for both homeownership and rental housing. NYHC will be:

  • Speaking Up– NYHC will testify to protect the statewide affordable housing plan funding and advocate for policy changes to help successfully implement it.
  • Analyzing NYS budget to ensure sufficient funding is available for implementation of the statewide housing plan.
  • Advocating for fair housing in a Statewide Source of Income Discrimination Coalition with other affordable housing and fair housing organizations. NYHC is a proud member of this coalition, which seeks to expand rental opportunities for all New Yorkers. Email us if you want to join!