New York state leaders have reached a deal on the framework of a legislative plan to address one of the worst housing crises in the nation, according to three people familiar with the deal who spoke anonymously because they did not want to jeopardize negotiations.
The agreement was negotiated by the governor and leaders in the Legislature, following a weekend of closed-door talks, and will be presented to the full Senate and Assembly on Monday. Some lawmakers raised concerns about some of its critical elements — leaving open the possibility that parts of the deal might still change or that it could conceivably fall apart.
The agreement includes enticements for two major constituencies: tenants and developers. For developers, the deal would include significant tax breaks that would make it more affordable to build. For tenants, it would include protections that would make it more difficult to evict renters in some apartments.
It would also let landlords of rent-stabilized apartments increase rents to cover the cost of some renovations. And it would lift size limits on new Manhattan apartment buildings — provisions city officials have wanted for years.
Together, the measures are an attempt to tackle New York’s housing shortage by making it much easier to build, while also delivering new safeguards for tenants. The package, which is projected to yield tens of thousands of affordable homes in the coming years, is meant to be an urgent response to the worsening affordability problem in New York City and across the state that has been watched nationwide.
Despite the gathering momentum behind the package, left-leaning lawmakers are likely to find fault with the deal, whose tenant protections are not as sweeping as many had hoped for.
