From Buffalo to Montauk, New York State is in the midst of an affordable-housing crisis.

The National Low-Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach report found someone working at the current minimum wage would need to work 99 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom rental. Along with stagnant wages, rising inflation has also led to higher housing costs.

Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator for the group Housing Justice for All, said legislative action must be taken, so people can afford to have a place to call home.

"The most important thing New York needs to do right now is pass good-cause eviction tenant protections, which would require landlords to have a good reason to pursue an eviction, and to raise the rents more than 1.5 times the rate of inflation," Weaver outlined. "Right now, that would be around 10%."

She added protections are critically important for neighborhood stability. The Good Cause Eviction Bill was first brought before the Legislature in 2019, and has been reintroduced since. The bill's opponents argued it encroaches on the rights of a landlord. The measure is under review by the state Senate's Judiciary Committee.

Beyond legislation, constructing new affordable housing is also an issue. Earlier this year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams proposed converting empty commercial spaces into affordable housing.

Rafael Salamanca Jr., a New York City councilman, believes it would create a swath of much-needed affordable housing.

"We can create up to 20,000 units of housing in Manhattan alone and other parts," Salamanca contended. "We can create up to 20,000 units which, in essence, will create housing for about 40,000 New Yorkers."

The need for some relief to the lack of affordable housing is growing, as Manhattan rental prices hit an average of $5,000 in 2022, according to a report from the Douglas Elliman real estate firm.

While there are many solutions to the crisis, no one is a silver bullet.

Emily Goldstein, director of organizing and advocacy for the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, said there are certain aspects of the affordable-housing conversation which need to be considered.

"I'd say the first thing is to start from a perspective and a principle of being really honest about who needs what kind of affordable housing," Goldstein urged. "Then, focusing both policy and financial budget tools towards that."

She added a holistic approach needs to be taken to zoning, and tenant's rights need to be addressed as well. Relief might be on the way, although it will take some time. In her 2023 State of the State Address, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a proposalto develop 800,000 units of affordable housing over the next decade to meet expected needs.

New York's 2025 budget takes proactive steps to address rural housing.

In the budget, $10 million was allocated for improvements to rural housing built by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Section 515 program. Rural housing organizations asked for $25 million but are grateful the state is taking action.

Mike Borges, executive director of the Rural Housing Coalition of New York, said another bill the Legislature should pass makes the Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement Program permanent.

"Basically what that does is provide grants to low- to moderate-income people to replace their mobile homes that are dilapidated and unsafe," Borges explained.

He would also like to see administration fees increase for nonprofits taking part in the Access to Home Program, which provides accessibility modification for low- to moderate-income residents. Reports showed it got requests totaling $12 million but only got enough funding for $1 million in improvements. The Senate is poised to pass both bills, leaving the Assembly as the final hurdle.

However, the budget was not perfect for rural housing. Borges said one shortcoming of the 2025 budget were cuts to the RESTORE program, which provides emergency repairs for low-to-moderate-income seniors. He said New York should take action now to continue improving rural housing preservation and development.

"We need a comprehensive housing initiative that looks at the obstacles to building and renovating, repairing housing in rural communities," Borges contended. "The three main obstacles to that are local capacity, infrastructure and targeted programs for rural housing."

He added rural areas do not often have the same resources and capacity as urban communities. Because rural housing is in short supply because of the aging housing stock, there have been stark population declines from rural New York communities.

Orange County's Supreme Court reversed a decision letting the city of Newburgh implement state tenant protections.

The city declared a housing emergency in 2023 when a study showed a vacancy rate less than 4%. The lawsuit overturning the protections found that the study was flawed, leading the court to invalidate it.

Daniel Atonna, political coordinator for the group For the Many, said this leaves tenants in a precarious position.

"This rips away protections for tenants in over 730 apartments in the city of Newburgh," he said, "at a time when tenants all across the Hudson Valley, all across New York, are facing difficult conditions as landlords are trying to evict them and raise their rent."

The petitioner's attorney said if unchecked, the city's actions would have made drastic changes to the rental market without legal basis.

This ruling also keeps Newburgh from setting up a rent guidelines board to decide whether rent-stabilized tenants' rents should stay the same, increase or decrease. Atonna said he hopes the city redoes the survey and implements these protections.

Atonna thinks Newburgh should opt into the newly passed Good Cause Eviction protections. This could better protect tenants, although some housing advocates feel these protections are ineffective. He said many residents support having tenant protections.

"Because it's meant stabilization for the community, right? It means a strong community where their neighbors aren't getting uprooted and evicted every couple of years," he said. "So, this was something that was going to be good for everyone."

A 2021 survey found 77% of Newburgh residents would leave the city because of high rents. It also found that people spend more than 30% of their income on rent.


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The Supreme Court case Grants Pass v. Gloria Johnson could upend homeless populations in Connecticut and nationwide.

The case centers around whether municipalities can fine or ticket people for sleeping outside when there is no shelter available. Connecticut had an eight-year decline in homelessness, but the last two Point-in-Time snapshots indicated it is rising again.

Sarah Fox, CEO of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, said ticketing and fining homeless people only harms them.

"It in fact prolongs their experience of homelessness," Fox asserted. "Once someone is engaged with the criminal legal system, it impacts and affects every other part of their life and their world."

She argued the state needs to work proactively to reduce homelessness, such as tackling the affordable-housing crisis. Connecticut has a shortage of more than 98,000 affordable rental homes. Fox suggested an interagency council on homelessness can ensure homeless people have better access to services and emphasized more funding will create a more effective system for sheltering homeless people.

Homelessness has risen 6% nationally since 2017.

Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said affordable housing and services are key to ending homelessness. She stressed along with state- and local-level work, federal investments can help squelch rising homelessness.

"Investments by Congress in housing affordability, that means rental assistance for everybody who is eligible for rental assistance," Oliva stressed. "Right now, only one out of every four households that's eligible for federal rental assistance can get it because of funding challenges."

Based on the Supreme Court's ruling, she feels ordinances criminalizing homelessness could increase. Even so, Oliva added all three levels of government should be aware of actual solutions to curb homelessness.


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