New York's affordable housing crisis worsened by red tape | Fingerlakes1.com

"New York's affordable housing crisis continues to intensify, with new data showing a massive shortfall in rental units affordable to the state's lowest-income residents. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's The Gap report, New York has a deficit of more than 631,000 affordable and available homes for extremely low-income renters. Developers say long approval and funding processes delay construction, even as demand surges. Gov. Kathy Hochul has pledged $25 billion over five years to build and preserve housing, including $1 billion announced this summer for nearly 3,000 new units."

"The report defines "extremely low income" (ELI) households as those earning at or below 30% of the area median income. Across New York, nearly 982,000 renter households fall into this category - but only 350,772 rental homes are both affordable and available to them. That leaves roughly 36 affordable units for every 100 ELI renters, one of the worst ratios in the country. Even when expanding the analysis to households earning up to 50% of area median income, the deficit remains severe - about 703,000 units short statewide."

New York faces a severe shortage of affordable rental homes for extremely low-income renters, with a deficit exceeding 631,000 units. Nearly 982,000 renter households earn at or below 30% of area median income, while only 350,772 rental homes are affordable and available to them, equating to roughly 36 affordable units per 100 ELI renters. Expanding to households up to 50% of AMI shows a statewide shortfall of about 703,000 units. The New York City metro area accounts for the largest deficit, and upstate metros like Buffalo-Cheektowaga face substantial shortfalls. Developers cite lengthy approval and funding processes as barriers to faster construction. Governor Kathy Hochul pledged $25 billion over five years, including $1 billion for nearly 3,000 new units. Eighty-six percent of extremely low-income renters are cost burdened, spending more than 30% of income on housing.

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