Time for a NY housing deal that endures

If Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers are serious about wanting to finalize a budget that prioritizes housing, they have to start fashioning a compromise. 

That means moving beyond the rhetoric, or the desire for a "win." It means listening, negotiating and arriving at a plan that takes communities' needs into account.  A deal should not lead us down a road riddled with legal challenges that would only delay the start of construction.  A bad plan will backfire and leave the region and state worse off.

At the risk of repeating ourselves, the state, and Long Island, need more housing. That means housing of all types  — and especially affordable housing.

How about starting with this premise: Any proposal that could hurt the effort to add more housing, or that could do more harm than good, should be off the table.

That includes good cause eviction, which New York City lawmakers want, but which should be removed from the budget discussion altogether. Good cause eviction, which would institute additional tenant protections and new limits to rent increases, will do nothing to add new housing. Instead, it will halt housing creation in its tracks. It'll hurt small landlords and large developers alike. It'll lead lenders to pull back on financing, as they won't be able to trust that a builder has the financial wherewithal to make a deal work. Some local developers have already said they'll leave the state if good cause happens.

Also on the harmful list: Mandates. Hochul should have realized by now that the mandate-focused vision she has embraced — including the state board that would override local decision-making on housing proposals and the state-imposed transit-oriented development zoning guidelines — will fail. Much of it likely would end up in the courts before it even starts.

If it goes forward, it won't work. Local developers will not propose projects when the process involves a state board or administrative courts. If outside developers seek to fill the void, Long Island workers and businesses will be hurt. 

What's the answer? Listen to Long Island representatives who know their communities, especially State Sens. Kevin Thomas and Monica Martinez, who understand what will work — and what won't.

Start simpler. Seek data and details about each community's housing stock and zoning. Offer significant incentives for housing development where sensible. When necessary, use a pullback of state funds, grants and financing as penalties when communities don't build. Develop a plan that is flexible and workable, and tweak it as necessary in the future.

Hochul rightly made housing a priority. Now, she and the legislature have to decide: Do they care more about the "win" — getting exactly what they wanted from the beginning, even if it's doomed to fail? Or do they care more about building the housing that will be a victory for everyone?