Last year was supposed to be the year Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York state lawmakers tackled the housing crisis.
This year, they’ll try again.
The state Legislature will kick off its 2024 session Wednesday at the Capitol in Albany, a six-month period when lawmakers will pass a critical state budget and hundreds of bills that Hochul, a Democrat, will decide whether to approve or veto.
But after Hochul and the Democrat-dominated Legislature failed to strike a deal on housing policy last year, much of the focus in 2024 will be on the growing crisis — and whether the sides can finally reach consensus at a time when rents are rising, mortgage rates are climbing after pandemic lows and the state’s housing stock isn’t keeping pace with demand.
“While everyone called 2023 the year of housing, I believe every year is the year of housing because there are so many needs across the state for more housing — whether it’s affordable, market-rate, supportive [housing],” said Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat who chairs the housing committee. “We really need to finally address the issues head on.”
The governor says she will change her approach in 2024, partly because all 213 state lawmakers will be on the ballot in November — which may limit their appetite for making tough votes that could harm their chances at re-election.
“I’m not going to head down the same path we did last year with the exact same plan, and in a year that is an election year for the members, where they have different focus and priorities,” Hochul told reporters in late November.
Last year, Hochul kicked things off by outlining a broad housing agenda she claimed would create 800,000 new units across the state over the next decade.
But the governor’s plan went nowhere.
State lawmakers from both parties objected to its centerpiece: a mandate forcing every town, city and village in the state to boost their housing stock by up to 3% over the next three years, and giving the…
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