On January 17th, 2017 Governor Andrew Cuomo released his 2018 Executive Budget proposal. The proposal outlines spending in areas important to the housing community. The following outlines the $2.5 billion 2018 budget proposal by area of funding related to housing programs across New York State:
The following outlines proposed increases and decreases in funding for major New York State housing programs:
The budget must be passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Cuomo by March 31, 2017. Budget hearings are to be held within the next few weeks.
Affordable New York
In addition to the above budget release, earlier this month Governor Cuomo introduced new legislation to create the “Affordable New York” housing program with a goal of building and preserving 112,000 units of affordable housing across the state. The program would replace the expired 421a property tax abatement program. The Affordable New York program consists of two major plans with the ultimate goal of creating affordable rental housing throughout New York City:
- The Affordable Housing Capital Plan outlines a 5 year, $20 billion plan for affordable housing to ensure New Yorkers who are homeless or at risk of homelessness have safe and secure housing. The program will create 100,000 new affordable housing units and 6,000 supportive housing units in New York State.
- Under the Affordable New York Housing Program, developers of new residential projects with 300 units or more in certain areas of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens would be eligible for a full property tax abatement for 35 years if the project creates a specific number of affordable rental units and meets minimum construction wage requirements. The units must remain affordable for 40 years. For all other affordable developments in New York City, the period of affordability and abatement eligibility would be tied to the number of affordable units. This new program will create an estimated 2,500 new units of affordable housing per year.
Construction workers on eligible projects would earn $45-$60 an hour, depending on the development’s location.
If you would like to learn more about this topic, please contact:
Kenneth R. Cerini, CPA, CFP, FABFA
Managing Partner
Ken is the Managing Partner of Cerini & Associates, LLP and is the executive responsible for the administration of our not-for-profit and educational provider practice groups. In addition to his extensive audit experience, Ken has been directly involved in providing consulting services for nonprofits and educational facilities of all sizes throughout New York State in such areas as cost reporting, financial analysis, Medicaid compliance, government audit representation, rate maximization, board training, budgeting and forecasting, and more.