G
overnor Kathy Hochul is pushing for regulatory tweaks and incentives to boost construction, rather than requiring localities to contribute to addressing New York's housing shortage. "Housing is the number one driver of our affordability crisis," she said, emphasizing that increasing supply is key to decreasing costs. In her State of the State address, Hochul outlined a plan focused on making it easier to build and providing new funding sources for developers.

    To speed up construction approvals, Hochul proposes exempting small housing projects from environmental review, potentially those under 10,000 square feet. This move follows a similar change made by New York City last year. She also pitched the creation of a revolving loan fund for mixed-income housing development, which would provide low- and no-interest loans to developers building affordable housing.

    Hochul aims to expand the state's version of low-income housing tax credits, estimating that doubling their amount would spur $210 million in private investment per year. Her plan also includes legislation creating a 75-day waiting period for institutional investors bidding on single- and two-family homes, as well as proposals to cut taxes for New Yorkers earning up to $323,200 per year.

    The governor's agenda includes expanding the state's child tax credit and cutting "inflation rebate checks" of up to $500 for some taxpayers. She also plans to work with Congress to restore the deduction for state and local taxes, which was capped at $10,000 under the Trump administration.