Res. No. 363

Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.6958, enacting the New York Fair Housing Act to address the State’s affordable housing crisis

By Council Member Riley

                     Whereas, New York State faces a severe affordable housing crisis with the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimating, in the 2025 New York Housing Profile, a shortage of 631,177 affordable homes for extremely low-income households statewide; and

Whereas, According to a 2024 report titled “A Building Crisis: The Quality-of-Life, Population, and Economic Effects of Housing Underproduction” by the Citizens Budget Commission, New York City’s (‘the City’) housing shortage “worsens quality of life for New Yorkers and drives away people, jobs and commerce,” and the City’s rate of severe overcrowding is more than twice the national rate, affecting over 170,000 households; and

Whereas, The NYU Furman Center’s (‘the  Center’) report titled “ State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods in 2024,” (‘NYU Furman Center’s 2024 report’) found that residential units authorized by new building permits in New York City  has declined, with just 15,626 units permitted in 2024, representing a 77% decline from the 2022 peak; and

Whereas, According to the Center’s testimony supporting City of Yes, the City’s comprehensive zoning reform, employment in New York City has increased by 25 percent since 2010, but housing stock grew by only 10%; and

Whereas, NYU Furman Center’s 2024 report also found that just over half of New York City renter households were rent burdened in 2023, spending 30 percent or more of their income on rent, with 28.9 percent severely burdened by spending more than half of their income on housing; and

Whereas, The New Jersey Supreme Court, in Southern Burlington County NAACP v Mount Laurel Township, and related cases (‘The Mount Laurel decisions’), established a doctrine that each New Jersey municipality must provide its fair share of regional affordable housing needs, resulting in over 75,000 affordable homes over 50 years, including over 25,000 since 2015; and 

Whereas, According to the Fair Share Housing Center, in 2024, 424 out of New Jersey's 564 municipalities submitted affordable housing plans under the framework of the Mount Laurel decisions, representing a 25 percent increase compared to 2015 and indicating an upward trend in municipal compliance with fair share obligations; and

Whereas, S.6958, sponsored by State Senator Robert Jackson, pending in the New York State Senate, would establish a New York Fair Housing Act modeled after New Jersey’s successful approach; and

Whereas, S.6958 would require New York municipalities with zoning authority to adopt fair share plans meeting regional affordable housing needs, calculated on a 10-year cycle, with an Affordable Housing Committee determining obligations and a dispute resolution program to ensure compliance; and

Whereas, S.6958 would provide municipalities with immunity from exclusionary zoning litigation if they comply with deadlines, and provide developers site specific relief to build affordable housing projects, when municipalities fail to comply; and

Whereas, S.6958 would ensure long-term affordability by requiring at least 50 percent of units for families with children, 25 percent of units as rental housing and 13 percent of units for very low income households, with an affordability period of 40 years for rentals and 30 years for sale units; and

Whereas, S.6958 would establish a New York Affordable Housing Trust Fund to support the development of housing and an online portal of affordable housing listings to provide access to affordable housing opportunities; and

Whereas, New York City would benefit from a comprehensive statewide framework that prevents the concentration of affordable housing in certain communities while ensuring that all New York State municipalities contribute to addressing to the state’s affordable housing crisis; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.6958, enacting the New York Fair Housing Act to address the State’s affordable housing crisis.

JLC

LS # 20420

10/22/2025