BILL NUMBER: S2523
SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to estab-
lishing a jobs and housing pilot program to create jobs in the
construction industry and address the housing crisis
 
PURPOSE:
To establish the Jobs and Housing Act and create a pilot program for
building affordable housing.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "jobs and
housing act".
Section 2. Legislative Intent.
Section 3. Amends private housing finance law by creating a new Article
31-A. Such article creates the Jobs and Housing Act, which would mandate
HCR to create a list of state-owned land available for housing develop-
ment, establish criteria for projects and eligible developers, and
rental eligibility.
Section 4. Sets effective date
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York state is in the midst of a jobs and housing crisis. More than
half of renters statewide are rent-burdened, spending more than 30% of
their income on rent. Over 60,000 New Yorkers are homeless. Homeowner-
ship has slipped out of reach for an entire generation, cracking the
foundation of the American Dream and threatening to deepen the racial
wealth gap. The backbone of New York state's existing supply of afford-
able housing is in jeopardy; new unfunded renewable energy mandates
threaten to impose extraordinary capital costs on limited equity cooper-
atives built by labor unions that will push them out of affordability.
The housing crisis is exacerbating a crisis of good jobs, which in turn
exacerbates the housing crisis. Median real household income has
declined by 7.2% in New York state since 2019. Workers are squeezed by
skyrocketing housing costs on the one hand, and stagnant real wages on
the other. Historically, union careers in the construction industry have
been a pathway to the middle class for thousands of New Yorkers, partic-
ularly immigrant workers, workers of color, and workers without college
degrees, but since 2019, the industry has lost over 44,400 jobs due to
the pandemic. Public spending on residential housing construction is
urgently needed to close the gap by creating good jobs for working
people in New York state, which will result in a virtuous cycle of
increased consumer spending to sustain economic growth.
This legislation would create good-paying jobs and homes for working
people. Eligible projects will cover existing affordable cooperative
housing redevelopment and new construction projects on land that is
state-owned, existing co-op-owned, religious institution-owned, or
privately owned and meets the outlined criteria. These developers will
have a history of employing from state-certified apprenticeship
programs, be subject to prevailing wage standards (Article 8 & Article 9
of NYLL), and will enter into a project labor agreement. New
construction will house tenants ranging from below 30% of the Area Medi-
an Income to 165% of the Area Median Income, with rent being capped at
35% of their income. This proposal offers a significant opportunity to
build affordable housing options for New Yorkers across the state.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: S8993A (Ramos) Referred to Finance
 
FISCAL IMPACT:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.