Overview

Costing over $1 billion a year, the 421a Real Estate Developer Tax Exemption program is the biggest tax giveaway no one has ever heard of. 421-a is the City’s single largest expenditure on housing, costing more than tenant vouchers, NYCHA, and subsidies for affordable housing development. In spite of the enormous price tag, the program creates mostly middle-income & luxury housing in gentrifying or gentrified neighborhoods. We need to stop funding luxury development and fund deeply affordable housing.

The Project

ANHD has led our member groups to advocate against the 421a Real Estate Developer Tax Exemption program, as well as written extensively on this tax exemption and the lack of true community benefit it offers to residents. When the program came up for renewal in Albany last year (2022), we were a key source of original research and analysis to give good housing and fiscal policy a fighting chance. Thanks to our advocacy, the legislature chose not to renew 421a. 

ANHD continues to be a resource for our member groups who want to fight for public accountability and a real public benefit in this tax exemption.

Recent Blogs and Media

Blog
October 7, 2016
The 421a Developers' Tax Exemption is the most important and most expensive New York City tax incentive that most people have never heard of, and has been an underlying fact of real estate development for the past 40 years. Something surprising happened this past January when the tax exemption was temporarily suspended, an unexpected causality of the struggle between big real estate and construction trades unions.
Blog
June 26, 2016
In the final days of this session, Albany elected, City officials, Real Estate and Labor continue to debate an agreement on the 421a developer tax exemption, which sunset earlier this year.  Last night, at 11:58 PM, new 421a legislation was introduced in the Senate which gives away more to Real Estate, requires less affordability, and leaves tax payers footing an even bigger bill.

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