New York — Housing Justice for All, a leading statewide coalition of over 80 organizations that represents tenants and homeless New Yorkers, released the following statement blasting Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2022 State of the State Address. The statement below can be attributed to Cea Weaver, Campaign Coordinator of Housing Justice for All:
“On housing, Governor Hochul is continuing the worst of Cuomo’s legacy. Amid a surging COVID-19 pandemic that left New Yorkers drowning in rental debt, Hochul is ignoring the eviction crisis, revamping corporate giveaways to developers, and providing no real solutions to housing affordability. This failure is an unconscionable abdication of responsibility on the part of the Governor of New York. New Yorkers deserve much better.
In her State of the State address, Governor Hochul said nothing about the Good Cause Eviction bill, which would allow 4 million currently unprotected renters to defend their homes, and ignored the state’s eviction moratorium, which expires in just ten days.
Governor Hochul also failed to present a new, green, social housing capital plan to meet the needs of 92,000 homeless and over 600,000 low-income and working class people who cannot afford the rent. She tinkered at the edges of the 421-a program, while making it clear she will still send billions in tax abatements to corporate landlords. Lipstick on a pig is still a pig: 421-a must be scrapped entirely.
Five years ago, Governor Cuomo promised 100,000 affordable housing units for New York and today, Governor Hochul has done the same. By continuing programs like 421-a and offering property owners tax rebates, while ignoring rental assistance and the looming eviction crisis, Governor Hochul continues to ignore, as Cuomo before her did, those New Yorkers who are most negatively impacted by the housing affordability crisis: tenants, public housing residents, and homeless individuals and families. This State of the State utterly fails to present a plan that will meaningfully create the new affordable housing New York desperately needs.
This State of the State is clear: on housing, Hochul is Cuomo 2.0. And so, once again, tenants and homeless New Yorkers are calling on the State Legislature to step up and lead where the Governor has failed. In the coming days and weeks, Speaker Carl Heastie and Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins must intervene and provide support to the millions of New Yorkers who are struggling to afford their homes and pass Good Cause Eviction, the Housing Access Voucher Program, and allow corporate subsidies to luxury housing to expire once and for all.”