Niagara Leader

ALBANY, NY -- Senate Republican Leader Robert Ortt, along with Senator Pam Helming, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Housing, Construction, and Community Development, and members of the Senate Republican Conference, today unveiled a comprehensive package of legislation designed to prioritize housing in New York State.

Leader Rob Ortt emphasized the importance of addressing housing affordability, stating, "Housing affordability is one of the biggest issues facing our state. Our conference has a plan to revitalize our existing housing stock by removing blight from our communities and replacing it with good quality housing units, to work with local communities on what housing strategies are best for them, to expand and create incentives for development, and to establish means-testing for rent-regulated housing to ensure that affordable housing units are occupied by those who truly need them."

Senator Pam Helming highlighted the goal of increasing access to affordable housing options for all New Yorkers, saying, "From the Bronx to Buffalo, the American Dream is unattainable for a large portion of our population. The good news is, this is a problem we can solve. Our Senate Republican Conference is again putting solutions on the table to increase access to affordable housing options for every New Yorker, from renters to first-time homebuyers to our workforce and seniors."

Senator Jack Martins called for immediate solutions to the affordable housing crisis, pointing out the misuse of affordable housing units, "Most people think that rent subsidized housing goes to the poor or working poor - people who actually need it. But they're wrong. The truth is 30 percent of those units are going to wealthy people because nobody checks their income - that’s over 300,000 affordable apartments that should be going to those who need it."

Senator Anthony Palumbo emphasized the importance of increasing New York's housing stock to address the housing crisis, stating, "Increasing New York’s housing stock is the only way to meet the state’s housing crisis and make the dream of homeownership more attainable for countless New Yorkers."

Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick expressed concerns over the issue of squatters and the impact on property owners, stating, "The mere notion of so-called ‘squatters rights’ is nonsensical and is having devastating effects on property owners who are forced to continue paying real estate taxes, possibly a mortgage and other expenses while a squatter wrongly occupies their property."

Senator Mario Mattera highlighted the need to protect homeowners from squatters, saying, "For many, owning a home is the American Dream, but the unfortunate reality is that it is becoming a nightmare for too many due to the epidemic of squatting. With this package making great efforts to ensure families can own and build their homes, it is vital that we also give them the ability to protect them."

The legislative package includes proposals such as creating tax credits for first-time homebuyers, providing property tax relief for home renovations, establishing a housing infrastructure tax credit, incentivizing the installation of manufactured homes, means-testing for rent-regulated housing, creating a Local Housing Task Force, extending the 421-a tax incentive for developers, criminalizing squatting as trespass, and expediting the eviction process for squatters.