Hochul Removes Controversial Affordable Housing Plan From Budget

LONG ISLAND, NY — After facing backlash from elected officials vehemently opposed to the plan, Gov. Kathy Hochul has removed from the state's budget a proposal for affordable housing that would require local governments to allow accessory dwelling units in residential areas normally zoned for single-family usage.

On Friday, a representative for Hochul told Patch that New York still has an affordable housing plan — while the ADU proposal is not in the budget, there is still a $25 billion affordable housing investment for 100,000 units.

Many lawmakers at a recent virtual environmental forum denounced Hochul's plan to allow accessory apartments on land zoned for single-family homes, saying the measure would increase density, and create issues with groundwater and other environmental concerns in an area long focused on preservation.

Brookhaven Town officials have also appealed to Hochul, calling the measure "a threat to home rule."

Hochul's representative sent a statement from the governor to Patch Friday: “Every New Yorker deserves access to safe, affordable housing, and I’m tackling the housing crisis head-on with a $25 billion housing plan and a number of policy changes that will increase supply," Hochul said.

In addition to "historic" investments in housing, including 10,000 units of supportive housing, Hochul said she also included five "bold proposals" in her executive budget that will make it easier to build housing across the state: easing restrictions on commercial and hotel conversions to residential, removing the FAR cap in New York City, improvements to the 421a program, encouraging transit-oriented development and a proposal to allow for the creation of safe and regulated accessory dwelling units across the state.

However, she said: "I have heard real concerns about the proposed approach on accessory dwelling units and transit-oriented development, and I understand that my colleagues in the State Senate believe a different set of tools is needed, even if they agree with the goal of supporting the growth of this kind of housing. So, I am submitting a 30-day amendment to my budget legislation that removes requirements on localities in order to facilitate a conversation about how we build consensus around solutions. "

After the news, local leaders applauded the step back. "It was an ill-conceived plan to remove home rule, impact our environment by adding to septic flow and traffic, as well as ignoring decades of land preservation and careful planning," Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski said. "I"m grateful the governor is willing to reconsider and talk to to other municipalities about this important issue."

Senator Anthony Palumbo agreed: “The removal of accessory dwelling units from the executive budget is a big win for local control and a check on Albany’s powers. ADUs would have increased density, negatively impacting our quality of life and placing additional strains on local services and threatening our environment and the region’s drinking water.”

New York State Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio, who had voiced strong opposition to the plan, also applauded the news: "I'm pleased that the governor listened to the minority conference and removed this from the budget," she said. "This proposal would have been detrimental to the environment, our schools, the local government, and services and would have increased taxes."

Moving forward, Hochul said she still plans to work with New York City leaders to ensure compliance with building code requirements. "This is imperative, and the larger conversation about accessory dwelling units across the state must not prevent critical progress in New York City from moving forward,' she said. "The amended bill will remove state obstacles and allow for the city to enact a local law accessory dwelling unit legalization."

Affordable housing is still a critical concern, Hochul added, stating that increasing housing supply is essential to the growth of the economy, to reaching a lower carbon footprint, to achieving goals of equity and inclusion, and to addressing the affordability challenges faced by many New Yorkers.

"I’m glad that the conversation on these important issues has begun, and I look forward to further collaboration in this legislative session," she said.

Peggy Spellman Hoey contributed reporting to this post.