Looks like Hochul will go all in on housing, which isn’t bad. The question is will housing go where housing belongs, or will it be at the expense of other things. But let’s hope she can at least get the state FAR limit of 12 lifted.
https://therealdeal.com/2022/12/01/g...itz-next-year/
Gov. Yimby? Hochul promises housing blitz next year
Calls New York a national leader in “blocking housing”
Dec. 01, 2022
By Kathryn Brenzel
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Gov. Kathy Hochul says she is ready for a fight.
Hochul promised to unveil a “bold and audacious” housing agenda next month. She did not provide details, saying she will unveil them at her State of the State speech.
But Hochul made clear that she views the next legislative session as crucial to addressing the state’s housing crisis. Her speech, at the New York Housing Conference’s annual awards ceremony, also served as a call to action for the attendees — which included various lawmakers and industry professionals — to educate communities about the need for more housing.
“There’s no kicking this can down the road,” she said. “I’m picking that can up right now.”
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Hochul indicated Thursday that her administration would target communities and zoning policies that block housing and perpetuate segregation. Rattling off statistics, she claimed that New Jersey and Connecticut are outpacing Long Island, Westchester and other New York suburbs in housing production.
New York City has failed to allow enough housing, she said, and “the suburbs are even worse.”
“We’re a national leader in blocking housing,” she said. “New York is in a league of its own in terms of restricting new housing.”
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Quote:
Hochul’s executive budget this past year also pitched removing the cap on the city’s residential floor-area ratio, or FAR. This and other proposals, including changes to ease the conversions of defunct office space into housing, will likely be on the governor’s policy agenda next year.
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As we know, the governor pulled the rfp process for this site because no one included any affordable housing. The max FAR on the site is 24, with only half (12) being available for housing. That made the irregular site even more difficult to build as a mixed-use, commercial, housing, and affordable housing site. Let’s hope if the plan is to include affordable housing, it would be for the larger, more practical site south of the Javits.