ANHD re State Housing Funding MOU

The New York State budget passed on April 1st made a historic $2 billion funding commitment to take on the state’s worsening affordable housing and homeless crisis. This was an important step, but the funding cannot be released and the work actually begin until our representatives in Albany agree to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for this funding.  Unfortunately, negotiations on the housing funding MOU are not moving forward, and the clock on the Albany session is ticking down.A press report yesterday suggested that a deal is being considered to release $150 million in state funding for supportive housing, without coming to an agreement on the full $2 billion spending.  Albany should not do a partial, stop gap deal.  While it is tempting to support a small, short-term measure to at least get some of the much-needed resources moving, this would be a mistake.  It takes pressure off the parties to make the hard decisions and may prolong the process of negotiating a final agreement.

The Governor, the Assembly, and the Senate are to be commended for their April 1 housing funding commitment. They should hold true to that commitment and come to a quick agreement on how to spend the full amount that our communities so desperately need.

Benjamin Dulchin
Executive Director
Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development

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