Budget Analysis

Governor Hochul released her 2025 Executive Budget Proposal and while the state’s affordable housing plan adopted in 2022 has ongoing multi-year capital commitments to housing, there are important policy proposals and some budget changes worth noting.

Hochul’s 2025 Executive Budget- Housing Funding & Staffing- HCR Appropriations 

The Budget continues investment in the five-year statewide Housing Plan, with $5.7B capital in a $25 billion initiative, to create and preserve 100,000 affordable homes, including 10,000 homes with support services for vulnerable populations, and electrify an additional 50,000 homes as part of the State’s plan to electrify one million homes. The housing budget continues to be supplemented by excess reserves from the SONYMA Mortgage Insurance Fund (MIF). Almost half of the $95 million in the MIF will be used for homeless housing programs ($53.58 million).

While the capital plan mainly aligns with the 2024 enacted budget, some important programs are left out or cut in the Executive Budget including the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), Rural Rental Assistance and Neighborhood Preservation Programs. As these programs are critical to CNYCN’s foreclosure prevention network, Rural Housing Coalition of NY members and nonprofit affordable housing organization led by the Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of NYS, it is expected that the Legislature will advocate for full restoration, following a similar pattern to last year.

These important programs should not be eliminated or cut during a housing crisis. 

In terms of new funding, the budget dedicates $40 million for the Resilient and Ready Fund to anticipate and respond to emergencies through rapid home repairs and permanent retrofits. This will allow the State to respond more quickly in the wake of disasters and to help a wider spectrum of homeowners and victims. The Budget also advances the Blue Buffers Buyout Program to encourage voluntary home buyouts in areas most prone to flooding. Providing $8.75 million to help HCR administer the $250 million targeted, voluntary buyout program that is funded through the 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act.

The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 641 FTEs, which is an increase of 10 from the FY2024 budget, primarily to hire staff to determine which communities qualify for the Pro-Housing Designation.

The chart below shows select housing-related appropriations, many of which supplement the 5-year statewide affordable housing program in annual funding. However, some programs may represent single-year funding or multi-year spending. The budget does not propose new resources to combat ongoing arrears in affordable housing or rising evictions across the state.

The Governor’s Housing Policy Proposals- Outlined in the Briefing Book 

While the Governor is not proposing statewide zoning action this year, her budget does take steps to strengthen her pro housing designation framework, build affordable housing on state-owned land, prevent discrimination through continued enforcement of source of income discrimination and new legislation preventing insurance discrimination. She also commits to a process to reform SEQRA. The budget also provides important policy changes to expand housing supply in NYC, sought by the City of New York.

STATEWIDE 

Prioritize State Funding to Pro-Housing Certified Communities – Capital Projects Bill 

To incentivize local governments to be active partners in the State’s efforts to ameliorate the housing crisis, Governor Hochul’s Executive Order No. 30 87 Human Services directed State agencies and authorities to prioritize communities who have taken steps to be pro-housing for certain discretionary funding that cumulatively represents $650 million in competitive programming. The Executive Budget further encourages participation by making the pro-housing designation a requirement to receive such discretionary funding, including through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), the NY Forward program, the Regional Council Capital Fund, capital projects from the Market New York program, the New York Main Street program, the Long Island Investment Fund (LIIF), and the Public Transportation Modernization Enhancement Program (MEP). To be considered, communities must become certified under the State’s Pro-Housing Communities Program overseen by HCR.

Develop Housing on State Property (ELFA Part P – pg. 98) 

Last summer the Governor directed state agencies to review state owned land for opportunities to develop or support new housing and indicated in her State of the State that they found publicly owned sites that could accommodate up to 15,000 new units of housing. The FY 2025 Executive Budget authorizes SUNY Trustees to make land available at SUNY Stony Brook and SUNY Farmingdale for the purposes of, “developing, constructing, maintaining and operating multi-purpose facilities to support housing needs and related amenities.” It also authorizes the Commissioner of Transportation to transfer and convey two parcels of State-owned land in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County. It also makes available $250 million as the first installment of $500 million dedicated capital under the management of ESD to support such improvements.

Address Discrimination in Affordable Housing Insurance (TED Part FF pg. 231) 

This bill would prohibit insurance companies from asking about or considering tenants’ source of income, the existence of affordable units, or the receipt of governmental housing assistance in the decision to issue or continue to provide insurance for residential real property. The bill would also make it unlawful for insurance carriers to increase insurance premiums based on any of the above factors.

NYHC supports this legislation and similar legislation advanced by NYSAFAH in the Legislature. 

Source of Income Enforcement 

The Division of Human Rights will strengthen efforts to enforce State law prohibiting a housing provider or a real estate professional from discriminating against an individual seeking housing because of their use of a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher.  A new enforcement unit is to be established in partnership with HCR.

Heirs Property Protection and Deed Theft Prevention Act of 2024 (ELFA Part O, pg. 78) 

The bill would define deed theft as a crime for any person who intentionally alters, falsifies, forges, or misrepresents property documents; or intentionally misrepresents themselves as the owner or authorized representative of property to induce others to rely on such false information to obtain possession of the property; or intentionally takes, obtains, steals, or transfers title or ownership of real property by fraud, forgery, larceny or other deceptive practice.

The bill would also make changes to the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) to protect from predatory investors family members who jointly inherit property after a homeowner dies without a will.

We are looking into how this works to complement legislation passed last session. 

SEQRA Reform- Outlined in State of the State 

The State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process is often used to block or detail housing development. Reforms can provide important protections for environmental review while limited abuse of the process. The budget does not include legislative reform but the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has begun its process to identify efficiencies in SEQR regulations, including to promote environmentally friendly housing growth.

NEW YORK CITY 

Affordable Housing from Commercial Conversion Tax Incentive Benefits (AHCC) (ELFA Part R – pg. 107)

Establish the AHCC program in NYC to provide a tax exemption for commercial to residential conversions that produce at least six rental units. It would require at least 20 percent of units be affordable, with at least 5 percent affordable to households at or below 40 percent AMI and all affordable units averaging at or below 80 percent AMI with no units exceeding 100 percent AMI. The bill leaves the terms of the abatement to be determined by The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) and NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). Affordable units would be rent stabilized during the benefit period. The tax exemption would be subject to building service worker prevailing wages during the benefit period except in buildings with fewer than 30 units or that receive substantial government assistance or subsidy for the development of affordable housing.

Extends 421-a Project Completion Deadline for Vested Projects and Authorizes a New Program (ELFA Part T & U) 

Legislation would extend the deadline to complete 421-a projects already in the pipeline to June 15, 2031. Currently, projects must be completed by June 15, 2026. The Governor addressed this challenge to ensure affordable housing units are built in the recently rezoned Gowanus, however many other vested projects are still at risk of missing the completion deadline and no longer being eligible.

The Governor proposes establishing the Affordable Neighborhoods for New Yorkers Tax Incentive program (ANNY) to incentivize the development of housing that includes affordable units in New York City. ANNY benefit recipients would receive a full property tax exemption during the construction for up to three years. ANNY homeownership developments would receive 40 years of full exemption and require owners to live in the unit as their primary residence for at least 5 years. ANNY rental units would receive 25 years of full exemption after the construction period, followed by 10 more years with the exemption percentage pegged to the percentage of units in the building that are affordable units. Affordability requirements would be set by NYC HPD. All affordable rental units would be rent stabilized and, in buildings of 30 or more units, the rental units would be permanently affordable at levels determined by HPD.

Building service workers in ANNY developments would receive prevailing wage during the benefit period. Construction wage requirements, including the average hourly wage requirements based on geography and building size and the fines for non-compliance, would be established by a memorandum of understanding (MOU) executed by the largest trade association of real estate developers in New York City and the largest building and construction worker trade labor association with membership in New York City. If an MOU is executed, buildings would need to commence development within five years of the MOU execution and complete within nine years of the MOU execution. If the MOU is not executed by January 1, 2025, the ANNY program would not go into effect.

Defining income targeting for the affordable units will be critical to gaining support for this program. 

Reforming FAR 12 Cap (ELFA part Q) 

The proposed amendment to the MDL would authorize the City of New York and the New York State Urban Development Corporation to allow for denser residential development than 12 FAR in specified circumstances. The City would be permitted to do so pursuant to a zoning law, ordinance, or resolution. UDC would be permitted to do so when provided for a general project plan, after consultation with local officials.

Basement Apartment Legalization in NYC (ELFA part S. pg. 123) 

This bill would give NYC the authority to create a basement legalization program to convert occupied illegal basement apartments to legal dwelling units that meet health and safety standards and provide amnesty to property owners who convert these units.

The bill would require that tenants of basement apartments who need to be removed while their units are brought into compliance have a right of first refusal to return to their apartments after conversion.

The bill states that any necessary amendments to the zoning resolution would only require a public hearing and approval by the City Planning Commission and approval by the City Council and would be exempt from environmental review and additional land use review.

While these proposals will not add housing supply or reduce zoning barriers at the scale needed across the entire state, they take important steps towards increasing housing supply in NYC. We look forward to their advancement this legislative session. 

The Governor and Legislature finalized the $229 billion state budget, excluding any plan for increasing housing supply and addressing exclusionary zoning across the state. In her executive budget, Governor Hochul proposed the Housing Compact – a bold statewide growth strategy that would have complemented the 5-Year Affordable Housing Plan, addressed exclusionary zoning while providing flexibility for localities, incentivized affordable housing and supported our aggressive climate goals through increased density near public transit. The Senate and Assembly responded by proposing incentive driven plans in their one-house budgets. There were clear opportunities for compromise but negotiations failed due to fierce opposition. We are extremely disappointed to see another year of inaction on our housing supply crisis. This budget guarantees that we’ll continue to see skyrocketing rents, existing patterns of residential racial segregation reinforced, first time homebuyers locked out of the market and seniors unable to downsize in or near their own communities.

Over the last several months, NYHC advocated in support of the Housing Compact as a founding member of the New York Neighbors Campaign – a pro-homes coalition of over 50 organizations across the state supporting policies to increase housing supply and create more affordable homes to tackle the state’s debilitating housing shortage. For months we met with legislators and staff, published op-eds, testified at hearings, held press conferences and released data analysis in support of these solutions. Though the state did not deliver this year, the Housing Compact prompted a serious conversation about what it will take for New York to truly address its housing crisis. It also became clear that while those in power may not be willing to pursue bold solutions, their constituents are ready for action. We will continue to fight for proven policy solutions to address the supply shortage, eliminate exclusionary practices and create the diverse housing stock needed to respond to job growth and serve New Yorkers at all different stages of life.

The budget did include some of NYHC’s other priorities as outlined in our budget testimony such as rental assistance to begin addressing the arrears crisis in public and affordable housing and continued funding for homeowner assistance and vital HCR programs.

Aid to Renters

The state provided $391 million for rental arrears for tenants that were deprioritized by the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program including, “tenants or occupants of federal- or state-funded subsidized public housing authorities or other federal- or state- funded subsidized housing that limits the household’s share of the rent to a set percentage of income.” Mounting arrears in affordable and public housing is a crisis that if not addressed could lead to a wave of evictions among the tenants most in need of housing and put affordable developments at financial risk.

While we are pleased to see some funding in the budget for rental arrears, we are concerned that this is not nearly enough to meet the need. NYCHA alone for example has $454 million in arrears since 2019 and in our study of just 50,000 affordable units, we found 31 percent of tenants owed at least two months rent totaling $145.7 million.

The budget excludes the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), which would have provided rental assistance to families and individuals who are at risk of or are already experiencing homelessness. Funding HAVP would have provided stability to tens of thousands of low-income renters and put New York on track to end the homelessness crisis in our state. Direct relief in the form of rental assistance is a lifeline for low-income households, vital to preventing evictions and needed now more than ever as families grapple with rising costs.

Homeowner Assistance

• $40 million for the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), which funds much needed foreclosure prevention services. According to U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey data, an average of 7.4% of New York homeowners with mortgages continued to be delinquent in 2022 – almost 290,000 New York families. This is well over the high of 3.8% in January 2009, during the height of the financial crisis and Great Recession.

• $40.5 million for the Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC), a program subsidy for affordable homeownership development and a necessary tool to creating home ownership opportunities for low-income families in New York.

• $50 million for a Homeowner Stabilization Fund modeled after the Buffalo East Homeowner Improvement Program to finance home repairs in 10 communities across the state that have been identified as having high levels of low-income homeowners of color and homeowners in distress.

• $25 million for a First-Time Homeowner Program to provide grants for homeowners between 50 and 120 percent AMI for costs associated with home purchases such as closing costs and downpayments.

Greening Building Infrastructure

The budget will prohibit the installation of all fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction beginning in 2026 for small buildings seven stories and under and all new buildings beginning in 2029. It excludes buildings for some uses such as medical facilities, laundromats, critical infrastructure and commercial food establishments. It also excludes buildings where the local grid is not capable of handling the load and will not impact existing buildings and appliances. This is part of an ongoing effort to meet the ambitious climate goals set by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

Governor Hochul and the Legislature reached an agreement last week on the FY2023 Budget, representing $220B in spending. We are pleased that the budget includes a new $25B, 5-year statewide affordable housing plan, some funding for NYCHA, and much-needed aid to renters still facing the financial instability brought by the Covid-19 pandemic. The state’s new affordable housing plan aligns with many of our recommendations issued in a December report but falls short of recommended funding levels such as NYCHA. Find HCR’s press release here.

NYHC commends Governor Hochul and the Legislature for adopting a new 5-year housing plan ensuring continued investment in affordable and supportive housing across New York State. Investment in housing is a down payment on a better future for New York. More than 1 million NY households struggle to afford rent each month and 90,000 individuals experience homelessness on any given night. NY’s new housing plan will help combat our affordability and homelessness crisis.

Here is an overview of housing-related programs in the enacted budget.

• 5-Year Housing Plan: The adopted budget includes a new $5.7B five-year housing capital plan ($4.5B to be spent over 5 years plus 1.2 billion in ongoing programs ($242M must be appropriated annually in FY24 – FY27 for ongoing programs)). The plan includes $1.5B for supportive housing, $1B for new construction or adaptive reuse of rental housing, $450M for multifamily preservation and $400M for affordable homeownership. According to Governor Hochul’s release, the plan also includes $8.8B in State and Federal tax credits and other federal allocations, and $11B to support the operation of shelters and supportive housing units and to provide rental subsidies. It also provides for the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes as part of the state’s plan to electrify one million homes and makes another one million electrification-ready. Overall, this represents a significant increase in state capital investment compared to the last plan.

The enacted budget also includes funding for a number of crucial housing programs outside of the 5-year housing plan:

• Public Housing: The enacted budget funds a Public Housing Assistance Program with $350M for NYCHA and $50M for public housing statewide outside of New York City. While this funding is helpful, NYCHA requires a multi-year appropriation and a long-term joint City-State strategy.
• Expanding Affordable Homeownership: Outside of the major $400M investment in capital resources for the creation of homeownership opportunities in the new housing plan, the budget also funds a number of programs for the provision of affordable homeownership throughout the state. These include:
• A $50M land banks initiative
• An allocation of $36M for the Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC), which provides grants to nonprofits to subsidize the cost of newly constructed houses and the renovation of existing housing.
• A $100M Mitchell-Lama Preservation and Homeownership Program to preserve Mitchell-Lama units and to create more permanent homeownership opportunities. Some of this program’s funding may be used for an affordable homeownership proposal like that seen in the Assembly one-house budget—known as the Foundations for Futures (Limited-Equity Co-ops Program). However, the details for this program will be dictated by HCR and are TBD.
• Hotel Conversions: The adopted budget provides $100M for the distressed hotel and commercial conversion program known as HONDA. This program was initially funded a year ago and no projects have yet been financed. Unfortunately, without legislative changes to the Multiple Dwelling Law to facilitate conversions to residential use, the program may continue to face difficulties in carrying out these conversions.
• Rental Arrears Aid: While state legislators and the Governor continued the call for the federal government to provide adequate levels of emergency rental assistance funding, they have agreed to provide a total of $925M to expand the existing state programs. The adopted budget includes $800M for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) and $125M for the Landlord Rental Assistance Program (LRAP), using a portion of the Coronavirus Pandemic Relief Fund. The budget also includes $250M to help New Yorkers make up utility arrears lost due to the pandemic. This is great news for thousands of households with arrears who applied for funds but would not be assisted due to the gap between funding and need.

Priorities Not Included

• The Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP): Despite both houses including versions of this bill sponsored by Housing Chairs Senator Kavanagh and Assemblymember Cymbrowitz (S2804B/A3701B), it was not included in the adopted budget. The bill would create a statewide rental assistance program for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. This program is urgently needed to prevent homelessness and promote housing stability.
• Fair Housing: The budget provides $35M in funds for Eviction Counseling outside of NYC, a welcome expansion in the spirit of NYC’s right-to-council initiative, $250K for improving access to housing for people with prior arrests or conviction records, and $2M in Fair Housing Testing funds. However, the “fair housing” proposals seen in the executive budget, which prohibited the outright denial of a tenant application based on criminal record and credit history or score were not included in the adopted budget.
• Land-Use and Zoning Policies: While the budget includes $85M for accessory dwelling units (ADU), regrettably, a powerful set of housing production-related policies were dropped out of the enacted budget. These include a lifting of the current residential floor area ratio (FAR) limit, regulatory relief for hotel and commercial conversions, and ADU legalization and subsequent basement and cellar conversion language (included in the Governor’s 30-day amendment of the Executive Budget). These policies have the potential to create thousands of housing opportunities for New Yorkers, we are disappointed to see them not make it into the adopted budget.
• 421-a Replacement: In addition to the other housing-production-related proposals put forth by the Governor, the Legislature and Governor were not able to agree on a replacement for the 421-a program. The Executive Budget included a new iteration of the tax credit set to expire in June known as the 485-w the Affordable Neighborhoods for New Yorkers Tax Incentive Program. Read the Furman Center’s blog post comparing the Governor’s proposal to 421-a to learn more.

The Legislature will have the opportunity to continue to work to agreement on the remaining housing policy issues until the sessions in June. For a program-by-program breakdown of the FY22-23 adopted budget, see the NYHC Enacted Budget Tables below or download a pdf version here.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and NY’s State Legislature approved the fiscal year 2022 budget in early April. While the budget does not renew the 5-year housing plan, it does include significant new housing funding, continues existing programs, and creating the state’s emergency rental assistance program.

Emergency Rental Assistance – $2.3 billion federal and $100 million state funding

The final budget enacts the “Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program of 2021”, New York State’s new rent relief program (legislation linked here, page 70), which utilizes funding from federal stimulus packages from December and March. The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) will administer the program.

The program will use $2.3 billion in federal funds and $100 million in state funds. The additional $100 million can be used to supplement the federal funds; provide relief for households with incomes greater than the 80% AMI if a household member is in a priority population defined by the bill; or it can be used for assistance to landlords outside the terms defined below.

Eligibility: Renter households will be eligible regardless of immigration status and will be able to self-attest eligibility. Eligible households must:

• Have a household income at or below 80% area median income (AMI)
• Have a member who qualified for unemployment, had reduction of income, incurred significant costs or experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19
• Demonstrate risk of homelessness or housing instability

Prioritization: During the first 30 days, OTDA must ensure no less than 35% of funding goes to households outside of NYC. They will also prioritize applications by income and the following priority groups:

• Currently unemployed and have been for 90 days
• Tenants of mobile homes and parks with arrears for the land on which they’re located
• Vulnerable populations such as survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking and veterans
• Households with pending eviction cases
• Households in communities disproportionately impacted by COVID
• Households in buildings with 20 units or less and owned by small landlords

During this time, applications will be accepted in the below sequence:

• 50% AMI and lower and a member in a priority group
• 50% AMI and lower and no member in a priority group
• 80% AMI and lower and a member in a priority group
• 80% AMI and lower and no member in a priority group

After 30 days, remaining applications will be processed on a rolling basis. The language on the 30 day prioritization period is somewhat unclear but we anticipate OTDA will release concrete guidelines once the program is established.

Residents of public housing and tenants of other federal and state subsidized housing where rent is limited to a percentage of income are eligible only if funds remain after all others are served. This language is concerning as it can potentially be interpreted to exclude tenants in affordable housing without rental assistance. We understand this is not the bill’s intent and are working with other housing organizations to ensure that this program will not prohibit or delay assistance to tenants in LIHTC buildings who are otherwise eligible.

For approved applications, funding will go directly to the landlord. If the landlord does not accept the payment within twelve months, they are deemed to have waived the covered rent and cannot initiate an action based on nonpayment of the rent.

Landlords that accept the payments are agreeing to certain tenant protections including that the arrears are covered and to waive any late fees, not to increase the rent above the amount that was due at the time of application for one year after the first payment, not to evict for an expired lease or holdover for 12 months after the first payment and to notify the tenant of the protections.

The administration is required to report monthly on their website including the number of applicants; the number of recipients that chose to participate; the number of eligible households that received assistance including the category of assistance; and the average amount of funding provided per eligible household. The legislation requires housing court to provide information to residents in court about how to apply for assistance.

While some of our major concerns regarding tenants’ ability to self-attest and access for undocumented households have been addressed in this legislation, we are still concerned about timely access and advanced processing of priority populations, which may delay processing overall.

We are also concerned by the provision that areas outside of New York City receive at least 35% of funding. We believe the legislation intends that this only covers funding during the first 30 days, but that should be clarified. In addition, the NYU Furman Center estimated that New York City’s households make up 75% of the total statewide emergency rental assistance need.

Finally, the legislative language authorizing the $100 million in supplemental state funding is very broad. It does not appear to have a limit on income eligibility and there is no guidance on the assistance for landlords. We will seek more details on intended use of this funding.

Eviction Moratoriums 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) eviction moratorium was extended to June 30, 2021. An extension of the NYS eviction moratorium, which expires on May 1, 2021, was not included in the budget. The legislature may act to extend the moratorium separately. We will continue to monitor this issue.

Transitional Rental Assistance – $100 million  

The enacted state budget includes $100 million for a new rental assistance program called the Transitional Rent Supplement Program, which will allow local jurisdictions to design programs and apply for funding.

Public Housing – $325 million  

The final budget allocates $200M in capital funding for NYCHA and $125M for public housing across the state for weatherization, heating, elevators, lead remediation, and other critical maintenance projects.

We are pleased to see public housing funding included in this year’s budget, however we believe the state should live up to its responsibility and commit to ongoing funding for NYCHA and other public housing.

Hotels and Offices – $100 million  

The 2022 budget includes $100 million to create the Adaptive Reuse Affordable Housing Program to convert commercial properties and hotels in New York City to permanent affordable housing. There was no program language attached to this funding. We will continue to monitor for legislative action.

Supportive Housing – $250 million 

The final budget includes $250 million for supportive housing ($186 million in HCR and $64 million in OTDA HHAP) for year 6 of the supportive housing plan.

State Low-Income Housing Credits

The enacted budget extends Low-Income Housing Credits for five years for $8 million per year.

Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) 

The budget includes $20 million per year for the next 3 years for HOPP, which provides foreclosure prevention services.

Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) 

The final budget allocates $51 million, a historic increase, to the AHC, which funds affordable homeownership opportunities. We anticipate legislative action to accompany this increase, which would fill budget gaps for many halted projects.

Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)

The budget includes a total of $950 million for the Home Energy Assistance Program, which is an increase of $450 million. The program helps low-income households pay for the costs of heating their homes.

Sales Tax Exemption

The final budget codifies the eligibility of the sales tax exemption for not-for-profit Housing Development Fund Corporations.

HCR Programs & Capital Funding 

The final budget leaves most of the capital programs at the same funding as last year. The one exception is funding for the Affordable Housing Corporation program doubled to $51 million.

Governor Cuomo released the 2020-2021 Executive Budget outlining priorities for spending $178 billion while closing the $6.1 billion gap.

The FY2021 budget marks the last funding year of the 5-year statewide affordable housing plan, which promises to create or preserve 100,000 units of affordable housing and 6,000 supportive housing units. The $20 billion initiative is not subject to public reporting, so we have limited details on spending and production progress. The budget briefing book says, “The State is well on track toward meeting that mark, having already financed the new construction and preservation of more than 60,000 affordable units.”

Over 5 years, the $20 billion is broken down into “$3.5 billion in capital resources, $8.6 billion in State and Federal tax credits and other allocations, and $8 billion to support the operation of shelters, supportive housing units, and rental subsidies.” While most of the capital funding for the affordable housing plan was appropriated in the first year of the plan, $407.336 million of the original funding is scheduled to be available starting April 1, 2020. In addition, the Executive Budget doubles funding for the Homeless Housing Assistance Program this year to $128 million for supportive housing operated by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). This includes $5 million dedicated to housing permanent, emergency and transitional housing for persons living with HIV or AIDS and another $5 million for veteran housing. With a record high statewide homeless count of 91,897, this additional funding is needed but more must also be done by the state to address our homeless crisis. The Executive Budget fails to include Home Stability Support funding which would prevent families from becoming homeless. NYS must also continue funding for the successful ESSHI program in order to ensure a continuous pipeline of critically needed supportive housing.

Notably, public housing was left out of the Executive Budget again this year. With capital needs now projected to be $40 billion in NYC alone, NY State must do more to preserve public housing across the state.

We were also hoping that the new Source of Income Law enacted last year in the budget would receive enforcement funding this year but it was left out. Read more about the #EndIncomeBiasNY campaign in a recent Op Ed by our partners, Elaine Gross from Erase Racism and Lorraine Collins from Enterprise Community Partners, Inc, “Section 8 discrimination is a crime, now Cuomo must fund enforcement”.

Additional capital proposed in the Executive Budget for HCR’s ongoing programs is detailed in the chart below.

Here are some other related policy and budget proposals:

• The Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT)

MRT is charged with identifying cost-containment measures that will provide approximately $2.5 billion in gap-closing savings in FY 2021 and ensure Medicaid spending in future years adheres to the Global Cap indexed rate. The spending targets are incorporated into the Financial Plan projections. The Team’s recommendations are due prior to the Enacted Budget on April 1 so there is not a lot of time to act. In the past, MRT had proposed investing in supportive and senior housing to reduce healthcare costs with great success. SKA Marin’s Metro East 99th Street is an example of how targeted investment in housing (in this case for chronically disabled individuals) can improve quality of life while saving tax dollars. We hope MRT will revive their housing committee as part of this process.

• New Authority to Reduce NYC Funding to Offset Costs Incurred for Administering Rent Regulation

NYC already pays NYS to administer rent regulation according the emergency tenant protection act of 1974, amended in 2019. HCR establishes an estimate and there is codified schedule of payment. This new amendment would allow the director of the budget to direct any other state agency to reduce the amount of any other payment or payments owed to such city or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof; provided however, that such reduction shall be in an amount equal to the costs incurred by the state in administering the rent regulation program for such city.

• Abolish the State Board of Real Property Tax Services

This transfers remaining duties of this State Board to the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance. In 2010, when the responsibilities of the State Office of Real Property Services were transferred to the Department of Taxation and Finance, the State Board of Real Property Services was retained and renamed the State Board of Real Property Tax Services. This bill would abolish that board and thereby make the process of reviewing and determining complaints involving equalization rates, special franchise assessments, and certain assessment ceilings more efficient, while aligning the Department of Taxation and Finance with other agencies, and eliminating instances where complaints cannot be resolved due to the lack of a quorum.

• Provides a Local Option for Placing Converted Condos Into the Homestead Class Purpose

This proposal would give municipalities that have separate tax rates for homestead and non-homestead properties, and that value converted condos using the sales approach, the local option of placing converted condominiums in the homestead class.

• Deny STAR Benefits to Delinquent Property Owners

Provides state support for the local enforcement of past-due property taxes, by precluding delinquent property owners from receiving STAR credits or exemptions if their property taxes remain unpaid.

• Allow for the Appointment of Acting County Directors of Real Property Tax Services

Amends the Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) to allow for the appointment of an Acting Director of Real Property Tax Services in the event that the appointed Director of Real Property Tax Services is unable to perform the duties of the office or the office becomes vacant.

• Modernize and Merge Real Property Tax Forms and Processes

When real property is sold, two different State-prescribed forms must be filed, both on paper, and a real estate transfer tax (RETT) must be paid, unless an exemption from the tax applies. The two forms (TP-584 and RP-5217) are largely duplicative of one another, but they cannot be readily combined because one form is a RETT return that is subject to the secrecy provisions of the Tax Law, and the other is a real property tax report that, by law, is fully subject to public disclosure. This bill would authorize the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance to combine these two forms into a consolidated real property transfer form and to implement an online system for e-filing this consolidated form and paying the associated taxes and fees. In New York City and Westchester County, which have instituted their own electronic deed recording systems, the Department’s e-filing option would be available only if the city or county opted to allow it to be used.

• Make Exceptions for Late Enhanced STAR Filers

This bill would reopen the enrollment period for the STAR Income Verification Program (IVP) and allow DTF to send checks to qualified late enrollees.

• Shift Basic STAR Exemptions to the Credit Program

The bill would reduce the income limit for the Basic STAR exemption from $250,000 to $200,000. Property owners with incomes greater than $200,000 who had been receiving the Basic STAR exemption on the preceding assessment roll would be switched automatically to the Basic STAR credit, unless the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance is unable to verify their eligibility for the credit, in which case they will be notified and given an opportunity to demonstrate their eligibility.

For more information on this policy proposals, click here.

New York State Lawmakers passed a $175 billion budget adopting several progressive policy changes with some notable exceptions- public housing being the glaring one. NYHC housing has been advocating for long-term capital funding for NYCHA and dedicated revenue from luxury real estate taxes. The failure of Albany lawmakers to include public housing in their robust budget deal is disheartening given the challenges facing NYCHA’s future and insufficient federal funds. Given the renewal of the rent laws in June, there may be some post-budget opportunity to revisit the need for public housing capital funding. A statement issued by the housing chairs, Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz says that an agreement on public housing funding wasn’t reached and they are “deferring any decision on these proposals until later in the legislative session”.
Here are some updates on our other housing priorities in the budget:

• ZERO PUBLIC HOUSING FUNDING- The Assembly had called for $400 million for public housing ($300 million for NYHCA and $100 million outside of NYC). The Senate’s budget proposed $350 million ($250 million for NYHCA and $100 million outside of NYC). Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget called for $0. At this critical time for public housing in NYC, each level of government must commit resources to restoring living conditions for public housing. See a statement from NYHC and some of the members of the Coalition for Capital Investment to #SAVENYCHA.

• RENTER SOURCE OF INCOME PROTECTIONS ENACTED!– A new statewide standard for discrimination will protect renters who are currently denied housing solely based on their source of income. NYHC is proud to be partners on the successful enactment of this important change to NY State law to expand housing opportunity to renters, 600,000 of whom have some form of supplemental income. We thank our partners in the #BanIncomeBiasNY campaign including the Fair Housing Justice Center and Erase Racism and especially thank Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. for their leadership. See a full statement on this exciting victory.

• NO NEW PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS– Both the Senate and Assembly proposed new prevailing wage requirements for both construction and building service workers in their one house budget bills. We are grateful that these costly requirements were left out of the budget as they would significantly reduce production of affordable housing. Governor Cuomo has expressed a desire to expand prevailing wage requirements this session but also stated the importance of not impacting affordable housing. We expect our advocacy on this issue will continue into June.

• NEW FORECLOSURE FUNDING– $25 million is provided for housing and foreclosure counseling. With previous funds from AG settlement monies expected to run out, communities and low- and moderate-income homeowners will benefit the extension of these services. NYHC is part of the Coalition for Affordable Homes and a strong supporter of Communities First.

• NEW CENSUS FUNDING– $20 million has been allocated for 2020 Census outreach funding across New York State. This is half of what advocates recommended. Let’s hope it is sufficient as there is much to lose in an undercount- including representation in Congress! NYHC is a proud member of the NY Counts 2020 Coalition.

• RENT LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNDING– The budget provides a total of $64 million for administration and enforcement of rent regulation in New York City, Nassau, Westchester, and Rockland, including funding for an additional 94 staff positions, and $5.5 million for the Tenant Protection Unit (TPU). Dedicated funding for TPU had been blocked by the Republican-controlled Senate in previous years.

• TRANSFER TAX– Instead of a pied a terre tax which was building some political momentum, an enhanced transfer tax on real estate was adopted in the budget. The tax is expected to generate $365 million annually. This funding will go towards critical needs at the MTA. REBNY has produced a helpful chart of the new transfer tax sales categories and tax increases.

• PERMANENT 2% PROPERTY TAX CAP– This was a high priority for the governor. This existing cap was made permanent in the budget.

• PACB BOARD– The Public Authorities Control Board approves the allocation of state-controlled bond cap to affordable housing projects among its other functions. Reacting to the threat of PACB board rejection in the failed Amazon deal, the budget includes the following language sought by the Governor as reported by the WSJ. “A member of the board must vote within the scope of his or her legal authority. The legal authority of a member of the board pursuant to this section is solely to determine whether the issuing authority has demonstrated that there is the commitment of funds sufficient to finance the acquisition and construction of the project subject to approval. Failure of a member to vote within the scope of his or her legal authority constitutes a violation of the public’s trust for the purposes of paragraph h of subdivision three of section seventy-four of the public officers law. As the appointing authority, the governor has the full discretion to immediately remove a member of the board he or she finds to be acting, or threatening to act, beyond the scope of such member’s legal authority set forth herein.”

• HOMELESSNESS– Home Stability Support, a new resource for homeless prevention with support in the Legislature, did not get funded.

With little change from the Executive Budget proposal for housing funding, the chart below shows that Governor Cuomo’s budget priorities were adopted. Besides leaving out public housing capital, the budget also failed to provide $100 million for Mitchell Lamas as proposed by the Assembly. There were also some slight differences in NPP/RPP funding amounts. We are pleased that these community programs received increased funding this year. Since much of the 5-year statewide affordable housing plan received multi-year funding in FY 2018, this budget makes modest increases to resources available to HCR to implement the housing plan.

On March 31st, the New York State Budget for FY 2018-2019 was approved. The $168.3 billion enacted budget includes $250 million in new appropriations for NYCHA. The final budget also included re-appropriated funding for the 5-year Statewide Affordable Housing Program. Last year, Governor Cuomo and the Legislature passed a budget funding a $1.97 billion 5-year affordable housing plan that more than doubled historic capital levels. The re-appropriated funding will allow for the program’s continued implementation and the building of housing units statewide. We would like to thank Governor Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Heastie and Senator Majority Leader Flanagan and all members of the Legislature for their continued support and investment of affordable and public housing in NY. For full details, click here to view NYHC Analysis of NYS 2018-19 Budget. Other budget highlights include:

Additional $250 million NYCHA Capital Investment for Emergency Repairs

This new $250 million allocation combined with $300 million previously appropriated by the State to NYCHA and Mayor de Blasio’s $200 million commitment this year will allow for some substantial progress to be made to restore safe and healthy housing conditions for NYCHA residents. More funding is needed, but we are happy to see the State and City providing this down-payment to remediate some of the emergency conditions at NYCHA.

New NYCHA Oversight Measures by State Statute and Executive Order

The budget amends public housing law section 402d to allow the Governor to enact a oversight plan for the funding, which he did on Monday when he signed an Executive Order creating a new independent monitor, who will oversee the spending of the $550 million that the State has appropriated to NYCHA over the past three years. The monitor’s title will be Independent Emergency Manager and must be unanimously selected by the Speaker of the City Council and the President of the NYCHA Citywide Council of Presidents (CCOP) in consultation with the Mayor within 60 days. If the three stakeholders are unable to come to an agreement in their selection, the City Comptroller would step in and have two weeks to make the appointment. The monitor would create a comprehensive emergency remediation plan and then have 30 days to bid out and select an independent contractor to perform the work. In addition to the State now regulating how its State capital funding is spent, HUD decided last week that it must approve all draw-downs from NYCHA’s federally allocated capital funds. These additional layers of spending oversight could affect the speed of repairs.

Expediting NYCHA Repairs Using Design-Build

The FY 2019 Budget includes design-build authorization for NYCHA’s repairs, the construction of new jails to replace the Rikers Island Jail Complex, and the reconstruction of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. As a result of design-build authorization, the City will avoid significant delays in construction and will realize savings in excess of $1 billion.

SLIHC/LIHTC Bifurcation and Certification Amendment

The budget added a provision to allow for the bifurcation and certification of State Low Income Housing Credits (SLIHC) and federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) permitting credits to be decoupled allowing investors in a project to transfer state credits independent of federal credits. A taxpayer allowed a state low income housing credit now will be able transfer the credit, in whole or in part, to another person or entity, without regard to how any federal low income housing tax credit may be allocated. Furthermore, the other person or entity would not need to own interest in the eligible low-income project. However, the transfer must be approved by the Commissioner of HCR and a transfer contract be made. This will make SLIHC credits more attractive to investors, which will create additional demand and drive up pricing as competition increases, thereby translating into additional equity for SLIHC projects.

No Temporary Deferral of Affordable Housing Tax Credits including State Low Income Housing Credit (SLIHC), Brownfield and Historic Credits

The Executive Budget had proposed a deferral of the usage of most business credits for tax years 2018 through 2020, where such credits exceed $2 million. This would have negatively impacted credit pricing and caused delays in permanent financing. We are excited to see that the Legislature decided against this proposal.

NY State Tax Code Adjusted to Circumvent Tax Reform’s State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) Cap

The recently enacted federal tax law has negative fiscal implications for many New Yorkers. By gutting the deductibility of state and local taxes, the law effectively raises middle class families’ property and state income taxes by 20 to 25 percent. New York is fighting back by decoupling the state tax code from the federal and creating two New York charitable contributions funds that New Yorkers can donate to in order to claim a State tax credit equal to 85 percent of the donation amount for that tax year. Also, the State would allow employers to opt-in to a payroll tax that can pass on to its employees to allow them to avoid personal income tax since full State and local tax deductibility for individuals was taken away by tax reform, but it was not for businesses. The IRS could challenge these changes.

Continue the Local Property Tax Relief Credit

The Property Tax Credit, enacted in 2015, will provide an average reduction of $380 in local property taxes to 2.6 million homeowners this year alone. By 2019, the program will provide an additional $1.3 billion in property tax relief and an average credit of $530.

Outreach and a Comprehensive Homeless Services Plan Required from Each Local Social Services District

The FY 2019 Budget requires all local social services districts develop and implement an approved outreach and services plan to address street homelessness.

The New York State Legislature passed a $153 billion FY 2017-2018 budget on April 9th. The spending plan appropriates $2.7 billion for affordable housing including $2.5 billion for a new 100,000-unit, state-wide, 5-year housing plan. NYHC would like to again thank Governor Cuomo, Speaker Heastie, and Majority Leader Flanagan for funding the 5-year housing plan to address the growing affordable housing need across NY State. Through their leadership efforts, NY has shown the rest of the nation how fundamental and critical it is to invest in affordable housing despite being in a period of great federal funding uncertainty. This unprecedented achievement is also a credit to our ongoing advocacy and the strong partnerships between New York housing groups. Congratulations to everyone involved in the fight for the MOU funds!

Funding

Last year’s $1.97 billion Housing Plan funds were reappropriated this year and supplemented by $541.5 million in future year capital to create the $2.5 billion Housing Plan funds. Similar to previous years, ongoing HCR programs are funded through the general fund and the Mortgage Interest Fund (MIF). $97 million was appropriated from the general fund for housing programs- some funding levels differ significantly from previous year. The MIF was also tapped for excess reserves for nearly $134 million for housing programs administered by Homes & Community Renewal. MIF funds were also allocated for the following purposes: $1,000,000 for NORC; $1,000,000 for NNORC; $6,522,000 for HHAC; and $12,500,000 for “municipal relief to the City of Albany”. This funding for the City of Albany is a departure from housing-related uses seen in previous years. For full details, see NYHC NYS Housing Program Budget Chart linked here.

Spending Schedule

According to the budget legislation, the appropriation schedule for the $2.5 billion in housing plan funds will provide an average of $543 million annually over the next 4 years. Since capital funds may be rolled over into future fiscal years, it is unclear what the production schedule is for this plan that started a year late.

Housing Plan Programs A full list of all funded housing programs is found in the NYHC NYS Housing Program Budget Chart. Below are programs funded in the $2.5 billion housing plan.

• Supportive Housing– $950 million for the construction of 6,000 supportive housing units throughout the State. With lack of political will to renew the successful city-state NY/NY supportive housing agreements, the State is now independently funding their own supportive housing plan. Supportive housing is proven to save taxpayer dollars by stably housing homeless people with disabilities.

• New Construction– $472 million for new construction or adaptive reuse of rental housing affordable to households that earn up to 60 percent of area median income (AMI). We expect this funding will go towards new housing on state-owned sites, including sites in the “Vital Brooklyn Initiative” investing in Central Brooklyn.

• New York City Housing Authority Capital– $200 million for projects and improvements related at housing developments owned or operated by NYCHA. The FY 2018 budget requires NYCHA funds to have a plan approved by the Director of the Budget, in consultation with NYCHA and DASNY, for the purpose of capital projects and other improvements. NYHC has been a strong advocate for State funding to meet NYCHA’s most pressing capital needs. We hope this funding is released in a timely manner and goes towards critical capital needs such as roof replacement.

• NEW Affordable Housing Preservation– $177 million for substantial or moderate rehabilitation of affordable multi-family rental housing currently under a regulatory agreement. NYHC made recommendations with other housing groups for this “Year-15” type program to ensure we are preserving existing affordable housing.

• Moderate Income Finance Program– $150 million for new construction, adaptive reuse, or reconstruction of rental housing affordable to households that earn between 60% and 130% AMI.

• NEW Senior Housing– $125 million for developing or rehabilitating affordable housing targeted to low-income seniors, aged 60 and above. This new program is a welcome start to building for our aging population. NYHC worked with senior housing advocates to ensure dedicated senior housing funding was part of the statewide housing plan.

• NEW Upstate Public Housing– $125 million for substantial or moderate rehabilitation and/or the demolition and replacement through new construction of public housing authority developments outside of New York City. This funding is critical for PHAs to take advantage of HUD’s RAD program to revitalize public housing across the state. The budget bill also includes tenant protections and notification requirements strengthening provisions in HUD’s RAD program.

• NEW Low Income Affordable Housing Preservation & Development Program– $100 million for the preservation, restoration or creation of affordable housing units in a city with a population of a million or more. Priority will be given to not-for-profits with prior experience in community development projects. This is a new preference for dedicated funding with a non-profit preference.

• Rural and Urban Community Investment Fund (CIF)– $79.5 million for mixed-use affordable housing developments that may include retail, commercial or community development components.

• Mitchell-Lama Rehabilitation– $114.5 million to preserve and improve Mitchell-Lama properties throughout the State.

• NEW Small Building Construction– $62.5 million for rehabilitation and/or the demolition and replacement through new construction of buildings of 5 to 40 units. This is an important program for hard-to-finance buildings and reflects another NYHC priority.

• Homeownership– $41.5 million for promoting homeownership among families of low and moderate income and stimulating the development, stabilization, and preservation of New York communities.

• Mobile and Manufactured Homes– $14 million for mobile and manufactured home programs. New provisions are also established outlining the program’s replacement contract requirements and restrictions, Energy Star mandates, and financial assistance format details.

• NEW Community Restoration Fund– $1 million to facilitate the development of nonprofit community land trusts. This is a new program taking advantage of the potential land trusts have to create affordable rental and homeownership opportunities.

• Main Street Programs– $14.2 million for stimulating reinvestment in properties located within mixed-use commercial districts located in urban, small town, and rural areas of the State.

Additional Transparency Homes & Community Renewal is subject to a new annual Housing Plan reporting requirement. HCR must provide a detailed annual report to the Legislature and Director of the Budget of projects and activities undertaken until the final disbursement of those funds has occurred.

Governor Cuomo and leaders of the NY State Legislature announced a budget deal with significant new funding for affordable housing. New York Housing Conference thanks Governor Cuomo and members of the NY State Legislature for $2 billion in new funding for a comprehensive statewide housing plan to combat housing affordability and homelessness. With big ticket items like minimum wage, paid family leave and income tax breaks being negotiated down to the wire, lawmakers funded a new housing plan but could not reach agreement on details of this new initiative.  Therefore, funding will be subject to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Governor, Assembly and Senate.  New PACB and ESDC approvals for “volume cap” proposed in the Governor’s Executive were not included in the final budget. This is good news as we believe they would have been detrimental to affordable housing and were advocating to exclude new approvals from the budget. While we don’t have too many details on the Governor’s 100,000-unit, 5-year affordable housing plan, we expect significant budget increases for many existing programs listed in the chart below.  We hope Governor Cuomo will release his comprehensive vision for affordable housing preservation and development in New York State in advance of the MOU talks to facilitate discussion around the housing needs of New York State.

Budget Highlights

• More than $1 million in settlement funds have funded housing and homeless programs over the past year since NYHC issued analysis on availability of funds from bank settlements. In this budget, $590 million of the $2 billion in new housing capital is funded by settlement funds. NYHC analysis of accumulated settlements was helpful in establishing the availability of these funds for housing.
• Low Income Housing Trust Fund, Homes for Working Families and the Rural and Urban Community Investment Fund Program all see increases. In addition, significant funding in the new housing plan will be allocated to producing supportive housing as the Governor has committed to 20,000 new units over the next 15 years.
• It is unclear if a new Affordable Senior Housing Program will be funded out of the $2 billion housing plan this year although there certainly was great interest in senior housing in Albany thanks to our advocacy partners who helped us reinforce the need to plan for our State’s growing elderly population.
• Unlike last year, NYCHA has not been appropriated $100 million this year, which we have been advocating to go towards new roofs.  Given the financial needs of the housing authority and the serious consequences of mold to tenants’ health, we hope $100 million will be funded out of the $2 billion housing plan to ensure NYCHA buildings are safe and healthy homes for their residents.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CHART

Analysis of the fiscal year 2015-16 enacted budget for the state of New York

In the early morning hours of April 1, the NY State Fiscal Year 2016 budget was enacted into law. The record $142 billion budget includes a $5.4 billion bank settlement surplus. Most of the surplus will be used for infrastructure investments and $1.5 billion will fund an economic development program for upstate New York. We are disappointed that none of the $5.4 billion in bank settlement surplus was directed to housing programs and that settlement recommendations specifically outlining uses for $492 million of the funds for housing were ignored. However, overall funding for housing and homeless programs in the FY 2016 budget has increased significantly compared to last year. This is mainly due to the programming of $439 million from a separate JP Morgan settlement, which is required to be spent on housing. Nearly $312 million of this funding was enacted in last year’s budget without agreement on programmatic use. We thank Governor Cuomo and the Legislature for increasing appropriations to housing programs in 2016. Given the extent of New York’s affordability crisis, the New York Housing Conference will actively advocate for a more substantial commitment from New York State in future appropriations to fund housing programs creating new affordable housing opportunities, preserving existing affordable and public housing and strengthening neighborhoods recovering from the foreclosure crisis.

click here for the 2015-16 program funding chart

Housing Program Highlights

$100 Million for NYCHA

Last autumn, the NYHC Advisory Board made preserving public housing one of our top three policy priorities for 2015. We are thrilled that $100 million will support NYCHA’s capital repair needs, improving conditions for existing tenants and preserving public housing for future generations.

New Middle Income Housing

$25 million has been allocated for a new program to support mixed and middle income housing. This new capital program will create units affordable to tenants earning up to 130% AMI. Communities will greatly benefit from enhanced income diversification in affordable housing.

Supportive Housing Programs

Under the $124.5 million listed in the linked chart, $74.5 million has been allocated for a new state-wide supportive housing initiative and $50 million ($10 million per year for five years) for Ofice of Mental Health Supported Housing to help ofset cost increases in scatter-site housing in areas with rapidly escalating fair market rents. While this is a great start, NYHC will continue advocating with the supportive housing community for a larger statewide program. MRT Supportive Housing Program is funded at $254 million over two years. This is a $32 million increase over last year’s funding level, providing service funds, rent subsidies and capital dollars to create supportive housing for high-cost Medicaid recipients. For full analysis of supportive housing funding, please see the Supportive Housing Network of New York analysis linked here.

Homeless Assistance

40 million will fund New York City’s LINC rental assistance programs to get families out of shelters. This sorely needed funding may help reduce New York City’s homeless census of 60,000 New Yorkers. Another $15 million will fund a new homeless prevention pilot. A full analysis of these and other State homeless program funding will be posted here by Coalition for the Homeless in upcoming days.

Analysis of Fiscal Year 2014-15 Enacted Budget for the State of New York

Governor Cuomo and the Legislative leaders reached an agreement over the weekend on the Fiscal Year 2014-15 State Budget, and the various budget bills were being finalized and approved on March 31st as this summary was released. Cuomo once again waived the three-day waiting period required by law to age legislation – clearing the way for the fourth on-time budget in a row. The Budget, which holds spending growth below two percent, provides significant new spending for housing, mostly due to one-time proceeds from a settlement agreement reached by the Attorney General last November. The settlement funds make up over $312 million of the $382.5 million increase for State housing programs over the Fiscal Year 2013-14 Budget. The increased funding includes legislative adds to restore funding cuts to the popular Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Programs and a restoration of funding for the NYCHA Tenant Pilot Protection Program. Summarized below are some of the highlights, followed by a chart showing all funding for State housing programs.

click here for the 2014-15 program funding chart

Housing Program Highlights

Public Protection/General Government Article VII (S.6355-D):

This section of the budget bill amends the State Finance Law by adding a new section 99-v establishing in the joint custody of the State Comptroller and the Commissioner of Tax and Finance a trust and agency fund known as the “Mortgage Settlement Proceeds Trust Fund” to distribute settlement funds. There is a corresponding “Foreclosure Avoidance and Amelioration” appropriation in the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s (DHCR’s) Aid to Localities budget in the amount of $312,366,643 that states that such funds will be allocated in accordance with a plan approved in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to be executed by the Division of the Budget, the Assembly and Senate. Under the MOU, the funds can be sub allocated to other agencies; however, $81,500,234 of the monies shall be distributed by the Attorney General. The appropriation sets forth a schedule for how much funding may be drawn down in each fiscal year in accordance with the settlement.

The Health and Mental Hygiene Article VII (S.6358-D/Part K):

This bill expresses concern for the number of children under the age of 18 living in homes headed by grandparent caregivers or other elderly relatives and directs the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to conduct a Grandparent Housing Study. The study is to look at the scope and scale of the issue as it relates to housing, economic costs, and other factors. The study shall be led by DHCR and shall be done in consultation with the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), The NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), and the NYS Office of Aging (SOFA). DHCR must report their findings in 12 months. For services and expenses related to the study $200,000 is provided in the State Operations portion of DHCR’s budget. The Budget continues the House NY program created last year to rehabilitate the State’s remaining Mitchell Lama portfolio which suffers from significant physical deterioration. The 44-project Mitchell Lama portfolio which was moved last year from the Urban Development Corporation to the Housing Finance Agency will benefit from an additional $32 million in FY 2014-15 funding. The Low Income Housing Trust Fund Program benefits from a significant increase, $11.5 million over last year for total program funding of $46.7 million. Funding for the Neighborhood Preservation Companies is restored to $10,073,000 and Rural Preservation Companies to $4,204,000, to bring them back to last year’s levels through a combined appropriation and funding from the Mortgage Insurance Fund.

2013-2014 New York State Housing Budget Analysis

It appears the Fiscal Year 2013-14 New York State Budget will be passed on time this year, although not as early as some had hoped. The Assembly and Senate starting passing bills late last week, but took the weekend to finalize details for the Aid to Localities and Capital spending bills which include funding for most state housing programs. These bills were printed Sunday night and are now “aging” to meet a provision in the New York State Constitution that requires lawmakers to wait three days before voting on new legislation. The Senate is expected to return today and start passing bills this afternoon when they can legally take action on the legislation. The Assembly does not return until this Thursday when they will take up the same bills. According to the bills that have been introduced, the final budget plan includes funding for two new housing initiatives: 1) initial funding to preserve the state’s aging Mitchell Lama portfolio, and 2) the new Rural and Urban Community Investment Fund which will provide grants and loans to help develop commercial and retail space within mixed-use affordable residential developments. These two new initiatives will largely be financed from excess reserves from the Mortgage Insurance Fund (MIF), which proved to be a key source for this housing budget. The legislature will agree to the Governor’s proposal to utilize the excess MIF reserves as a key part of the fiscal plan for 2013-14. This represents a fairly dramatic shift in public policy – changing the source for several of the housing programs within the Aid to Localities budget, from the State’s General Fund to the MIF. The MIF is a division of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA). Existing statute allows for excess revenue from the MIF to be returned to the State with SONYMA Board approval, as long as the remaining reserves are sufficient to attain and maintain the State’s credit rating. So in future years when the MIF doesn’t have excess revenue, these programs could be facing an uphill battle to get back into the General Fund.

click here for the 2013-14 program funding chart

According to the plan, the MIF will fund the following this year:

• An amount of $8,479,000 would be provided to support the Neighborhood Preservation Program.
• An amount of $3,539,000 would be provided to support the Rural Preservation Program.
• An amount of $20,400,000 would support rental subsidies for low-income individuals under the federally funded Rural Rental Assistance Program.
• An amount of $17,582,000 would be transferred to HFA to support the refinancing and capital repairs of thirty-six Mitchell Lama affordable housing projects.
• An amount of $3,500,000 to support the new Rural and Urban Community Investment Fund Program.
• An amount of $3,000,000 to support the Low Income Housing Trust Fund Program.
• An amount of $2,000,000 to support the Urban Initiatives Program.
• An amount of $1,500,000 to support the Rural Area Revitalization Program.
• And an amount of $104,000,000 would be transferred to the General Fund.

Housing Program Highlights

Preserving Affordable Housing

The 2013-14 Budget will help Governor Cuomo’s House NY program to get underway with an initial investment of $17,582,000 from the MIF. This funding will go directly to the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to support the refinancing and capital repairs for some of the State controlled Mitchell Lama portfolio. It is expected that an additional $158 million from the MIF will be available over the next four budget cycles to address some 35 Mitchell Lama projects in total, that suffer from significant physical deterioration. As part of this initiative, the Mitchell-Lama affordable housing asset portfolio will be transferred from Empire State Development to HFA.

Creating New Housing Opportunities

The legislature will create the Rural and Urban Community Investment Fund as part of the 2013-14 Budget with a total of $5,354,000 from the General Fund and the MIF. The Fund will provide grants and loans for the creation and improvement of affordable housing, as well as the commercial, retail and community facilitates related to mixed-use affordable residential developments. The program will have a one-third match requirement and sixty percent of the funds will be allocated to urban projects and 40 percent to rural projects. The new program will be administered by the Housing Trust Fund.

Homeless Housing Assistance Program

The legislature has omitted language in their bills that would have transferred the administration of the Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) from the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) to the Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Instead, the program remains at OTDA with no change in funding over 2012-13 ($30 million from the Capital Budget).

Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Programs

The legislature did not agree to the Governor’s proposal to merge the Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Programs (N/RPP) into a single, performance based program. In addition, the legislature restored the funding levels for the N/RPP’s to prior year levels. The legislature did not agree to the Governor’s proposal to fund a $5.7 million Tenant Protection Unit within DHCR. The budget will reduce funding for the New York Main Street Program, increase funding for the Low Income Housing Trust Fund, and restore funding for the Rural Area Revitalization and Urban Initiatives Programs. Funding for all other capital programs (Access to Home, Affordable Housing Corporation, Homeless Housing Assistance Program, Homes for Working Families Program, Housing Opportunity Program for Elderly, and Public Housing Modernization Program) will remain at prior year levels. (See chart below).

Other Budget proposals of interest include the following:

The Budget continues the implementation of Medicaid Reform Team (MRT) recommendations, including making additional funding available for affordable housing. The legislature will not enact the Executive’s proposal to limit the powers of a local Industrial Development Authority (IDA) to provide State Sales Tax abatements to local projects. However the agreement will limit the industries to which IDAs can offer State sales and other use benefits to key sectors, in particular excluding retail with certain exemptions. The law will also increase the reporting requirements for IDAs. Source: 2013-14 New York State Executive Budget Education, Labor and Family Assistance, Article VII Legislation [S.2607D/A.3007D], Part K, L and M.

2012-2013 New York State Housing Budget Analysis

NEW YORK (March 29, 2012) – Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature have reached a three way agreement on the FY2012-13 State Budget and the Legislature is poised to pass the final parts of the plan within the next few hours. The new fiscal year begins April 1. The housing part of the Budget is very favorable to supportive housing and the popular nonprofit networks known as the Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Companies. The affordable housing program highlights are below.

Housing Program Highlights

Local Assistance Funding for Affordable Housing:

The final Budget will more than restore full funding to the community based nonprofit organizations under the Neighborhood Preservation Companies program (NPCs) and Rural Preservation Companies program (RPCs). According to the Budget, NPCs will be funded at $10.072 million – this includes a restoration of the $8.479 million cut that had been proposed plus an additional $1.593 million over 2011’s funding level. The RPCs will be funded at $4.204 million – this includes a restoration of the $3.539 million cut that had been proposed plus an additional $665,000 over 2011’s funding level. This is the first increase in funding in five years for these two programs. The Budget will increase funding for the Rural Rental Assistance Program (RRAP) which provides State funded rental subsidies to approximately 4,700 low income occupants of rural housing projects partially financed by the US Department of Agriculture. The program will receive an additional $4.798 million under the new Budget bringing the total appropriation to $19.6 million. The Budget includes an agreement to continue to assist homeowners through the Subprime Foreclosure Prevention Program. The Budget provides $9 million for the continuation of mortgage foreclosure counseling services to be administered by NYS Homes and Community Renewal over the next 6 months until proceeds from the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement Agreement are realized. At that time, additional services will be financed with proceeds from the Settlement Agreement under the administration of the State Attorney General’s office.

Supportive Housing Programs:

Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Supportive Housing Development Program – The Budget includes $60 million for the MRT Supportive Housing Fund. Following the recommendations of the MRT, the budget establishes and funds a new Supportive Housing Development Program that will provide service funding, rent subsidies and capital dollars to create supportive housing for high-cost Medicaid recipients. The new fund will be funded with $60 million of State general funds this year, and $75 million of State general funds in each of the following two years, with funding originating in the NYS Department of Health, to be distributed to HCR, OTDA, OMH, OASAS, OPWDD and the DOH AIDS Institute. It also allows the fund to grow to $150 million annually if the State can convince the federal Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services to provide matching funds. The State’s draft spending plan envisions approximately one-third of this year’s fund going to scattered-site rental and service subsidies, another third going to capital development of supportive housing units at NYS Homes and Community Renewal, and as much as $14.5 million to OTDA Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) for upstate projects, with the rest going to specific projects including $7 million to provide capital funding for the development of community-based permanent housing for residents of Goldwater/Coler Hospital. Further details will follow in the coming weeks. Community Reinvestment in Supportive Housing – In addition to the $60 million in funding this year, the budget authorizes a new, ongoing community reinvestment vehicle, the Supportive Housing Development Reinvestment Program. This new program will redirect savings achieved by closing nursing home and hospital beds to build and operate new supportive housing in the community for high-cost Medicaid recipients. NYS Supportive Housing Program (NYSSHP) & NYS Solutions to End Homelessness Program (STEHP) – The budget also increases funding for NYSSHP and STEHP by $1.5 million each, a total of $3 million in additional funding to the Homeless Housing and Prevention Services Program.

Capital Budget for Affordable Housing:

The Budget calls for the expansion of the State Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program. The Division of Housing and Community Renewal is authorized to allocate an additional $8 million annually in each of the next two years in aggregate credit awards to taxpayers who develop qualifying housing projects for low-income New Yorkers. Credits are given in equal installments for a ten-year period. The Budget also calls for $32.2 million for the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Program – same as 2011, which provides grants of up to $125,000 per unit to construct or renovate low-income apartment projects. The Budget includes $25 million for the Affordable Home Ownership Development Program – same as 2011, which provides grants of up to $40,000 per unit to construct or renovate homes for low and moderate- income families. The Budget includes $6.4 million for the Public Housing Modernization Program – same as 2011, which subsidizes repairs at 74 State-supervised public housing projects across the State. A total of $400,000 will be reserved for capital activities aimed at reducing illegal drug activities at these projects. The Budget includes $7 million for the Homes for Working Families Program – same as 2011, which combines State funds with other available public and private sector moneys, Federal Low Income Tax Credit proceeds and non-State supported bond funds to construct affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income households. The plan calls for $400,000 for the Housing Opportunities for the Elderly Program (also known as RESTORE) – same as 2011, which provides grants to low-income elderly homeowners for emergency home repairs. The Budget includes $1 million for the Access to Home Program – same as 2011, which provides funding for home adaptations for individuals with disabilities to enable them to continue to live in their own residences and avoid institutional care. The New York Main Street Program, which provides financial resources and technical assistance to communities to revitalize historic downtowns, mixed-use neighborhoods, commercial districts and village centers was increased by $3 million, to $5.2 million. The Budget also funds two programs that have been in existence for many years, but infrequently funded; the Urban Initiatives and the Rural Area Revitalization programs will each be funded at $4 million this year. Both are administered by NYS Homes and Community Renewal.