Examining Hochul's Five-Year Blueprint for Housing Solutions

Examining Hochul's Five-Year Blueprint for Housing Solutions

Governor Hochul's Affordable Housing Plan Makes Progress

New York's affordable housing plan, initiated by Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022, is progressing well, with over 65,000 affordable homes built or preserved since its inception. The goal is to achieve 100,000 units within five years through $25 billion in state investments [1].

The plan encompasses a diverse range of projects, such as the redevelopment of state properties like the Creedmoor Psychiatric Campus in Eastern Queens. This project has been revised to better align with community needs, providing housing for veterans, seniors, and families [2].

While specific details on all projects are not fully disclosed, periodic press releases and announcements suggest steady progress in the affordable housing pipeline under this plan. The state focuses on both new construction and preservation efforts to ensure affordability and an increase in overall housing stock [1][2].

As of the end of the third year of the five-year plan, approximately 60,000 units have been built or preserved. The Housing Plan Dashboard, launched by Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) on their homepage, lists nearly 180 projects as "under construction" and includes over 350 projects that are either completed or currently under construction, encompassing a little over 38,000 units [3].

However, little data has been made public about the projects that the state has counted towards its ultimate goal of building or preserving 100,000 affordable units within the current five-year plan. It is worth noting that HCR claims it hit the goal of building or preserving 100,000 affordable units between 2017 and 2022 [4].

Queens leads the way with about 1,200 units either currently under construction or preserved, followed by Brooklyn with approximately 1,000 units. Staten Island has the least number of units, with just one project providing 75 homes [5].

The current five-year plan, which will end in 2027, has seen a significant increase in affordable housing opportunities across New York. The bulk of the affordable housing being built or preserved is in New York City [6].

Governor Hochul's housing plan in 2022 was similar to the successful five-year plan from Cuomo's administration. In 2024, Hochul negotiated the Housing Compact with the goal of building 800,000 new units of housing over the next decade [7].

[1] New York State's Affordable Housing Plan Progress

[2] Creedmoor Psychiatric Campus Redevelopment

[3] Housing Plan Dashboard

[4] HCR Annual Report 2024

[5] Affordable Housing by County

[6] Governor Hochul's 2022 Affordable Housing Plan

[7] Housing Compact Announcement

1. The progress of Governor Hochul's Affordable Housing Plan, initiated in 2022, is contingent on policy-and-legislation and politics, as the state aims to build or preserve 100,000 affordable homes within five years through $25 billion in investments.
2. The affordable housing plan has garnered attention in the general-news, with periodic updates on specific projects, such as the redevelopment of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Campus, which is providing housing for veterans, seniors, and families.

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