By Carlina Rivera March 27, 2026 4:30 pm
reprintsAt a time when nearly 3 million people across New York state are rent burdened, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Albany lawmakers have a generational opportunity to address the affordable housing crisis by pairing critical new funding with policy changes that will ensure those dollars go further and deliver more homes.
While we’ve made incremental progress in removing barriers to building desperately needed units, change on a much larger scale is necessary to really make a dent in the problem. As the state budget is being debated in Albany, there is real momentum for meaningful action.
No New Yorker should have to choose between paying for essentials like food and medication because — as is the case for one in five households — more than half of their income goes toward housing. Low- and middle-income households in all corners of the state are facing increasingly strained budgets. The rising cost of housing and persistent shortage of affordable homes is making an already difficult situation much worse.
Thankfully, Hochul and the legislature have recognized the urgency of this moment. All three budget proposals — the executive, Senate and Assembly — included $250 million in new capital funding for affordable housing. That investment is significant and welcome. It reflects a shared understanding that we must not only build new units but also preserve the ones we already have.
But funding alone is not enough.
To fully realize the impact of these investments, we must also address the policies that determine how quickly and efficiently housing can be built. In affordable housing, time is money. Lengthy approval processes, duplicative reviews and uncertainty all increase financing and legal costs, expose projects to construction price escalation, and ultimately reduce the number of homes that limited public resources can support.
That is why the policy proposals under consideration this legislative session are so important.
For example, the governor’s proposed changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) represent a meaningful step toward balancing environmental protections with the need to remove unnecessary barriers to housing development. Establishing clearer timelines and targeted exemptions can help reduce delays while maintaining the integrity of environmental review and preserving community input.
The state Senate has also advanced an ambitious framework to address SEQRA-related barriers to housing. Their proposal recognizes the need to tackle delays and create more certainty in the development process, which is again both necessary and appreciated. As discussions continue, however, we must ensure that these reforms are workable and accessible across a broader range of communities — including suburban and rural areas where affordable housing needs are just as real as in densely populated urban areas — even if they take different forms.
While the Assembly traditionally does not include policy changes in its one-chamber budget, its support for increased capital funding signals an important commitment to addressing the housing crisis. We are hopeful that as negotiations progress all parties will come together around a comprehensive approach that pairs investment with smart, effective policy.
There are also encouraging proposals that recognize the importance of preserving existing affordable housing. The $40 million Affordable Housing Relief Fund included in the Senate’s budget resolution would help stabilize projects facing financing gaps due to rising construction and operating costs — a critical step, as preserving existing units is just as urgent as building new ones.
At the same time, rising insurance and liability costs continue to threaten the financial viability of affordable housing. Efforts to improve transparency and address cost drivers in the multifamily insurance market are an important part of ensuring long-term stability for both new and existing housing.
Addressing New York’s housing crisis is not simple. The current landscape took a long time to develop and it will not be solved by any single action. But the path forward is clear: We need both meaningful investment and the policy reforms that will allow that investment to translate into real, tangible housing outcomes.
As the budget deadline approaches, the governor and the legislature must align funding with policy to deliver for New Yorkers by reducing delays, cutting red tape, and making every public dollar work harder. Doing so will allow the affordable housing sector to deliver more homes, more quickly and more efficiently.
New Yorkers across the state — from dense urban neighborhoods to suburban communities and rural towns — are counting on Albany to deliver on an affordability agenda, of which housing must be a sizable part.
Carlina Rivera is president and CEO of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing and a former member of the New York City Council from Manhattan.