On January 5th, Governor Kathy Hochul addressed New Yorkers in the annual State of the State Address. According to attorneys Brett Gottleib and Mitchell Korbey of the law firm Herrick Feinstein LLP, “While [Hochul’s] speech was silent with regards to the 421a Affordable New York Program, the Governor’s Briefing Book highlighted the following goals for a program which she would support with regards to a replacement affordable housing property tax benefit program:”
• Creating deeper affordability that services lower income households than 421a
• Creating longer-term affordability to provide more stability for low-income households
• Ensuring long-term availability of affordable rental units in neighborhoods across New York City
• Restructuring the tax abatement to ensure maximum efficiency of taxpayer dollars with City and State climate goals by requiring carbon-neutral technologies, electrification and electrification-ready building systems
• Allowing flexibility to enable construction of financially viable smaller buildings
• Creating an all-affordable homeownership option to promote low- and moderate-income homeownership opportunities across the City
The attorneys note that “The current version of the 421a Affordable New York Program requires that construction commence prior to June 15, 2022. We remain optimistic that the Governor's proposal as outlined above will offer a viable solution and address the critics of the expiring 421a Program.”
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