Albany must boost housing in state budget

As state lawmakers leave Albany for the holiday weekend, they and Gov. Kathy Hochul are leaving behind an unfinished budget and a murky, uncertain landscape. When they return next week, after missing the April 1 budget deadline and giving themselves a few extra days to hash out remaining battles, state elected officials will have to rethink several significant items.

That starts with housing.

Nothing was done on housing last year, and after much criticism, lawmakers are anxious to do something — anything — now. But such desperate decision-making could easily backfire. Right now, some proposals would do just that.

Lawmakers are considering a new version of the 421a tax break — a New York City abatement that could encourage developers to add much-needed affordable apartments. That's good. Now for the bad: They're coupling the tax break — which would apply only to New York City — with a version of “good cause eviction” that would apply to the entire state.

Presented as tenant protections, good cause eviction sounds good on the surface. But by strictly limiting rent increases and making it far more difficult for a landlord to evict a tenant, good cause isn't about ending price gouging or protecting tenants; instead, it's akin to universal rent control. It would make financing new development more difficult, as lenders and investors won't put money into any project if it is impossible to raise rents, make renovations or improvements, or get rid of bad tenants.

In other words, state lawmakers who supposedly hope to alleviate the state's housing shortage — including on Long Island — want to institute a policy that will make it far tougher to add housing. That would be foolish. It's hard enough to build housing here. Good cause eviction would damage the Island's already-tight housing market — and curtail efforts to expand the region's housing stock. 

In New York, which already has strong tenant protections, good cause eviction is a bad idea. But if legislators insist on it, they should limit it to New York City, the only location helped by the proposed tax break. If they insist on going further, then good cause should apply only to communities that vote to “opt in.” That hopefully would protect Long Island from a bad Albany decision.

State lawmakers should instead spotlight ways to actually boost housing production. Providing money for infrastructure, including sewers, would help. Incentivizing housing on state land is welcome. Encouraging residential development on religious institutions' properties could be smart, if it doesn't supersede local zoning authority. Also worth considering: legislation that would make it easier for property owners to remove squatters.

As the budget process wraps up, lawmakers should be open in their discussions; conversations behind closed doors don't help. Housing is just one of many critical issues to be resolved. Long Island's lawmakers must make their voices heard. And Albany must get this right.