Senator Cordell Cleare joins CM Christopher Marte, AM Emily Gallagher & Housing Activists to Support Social Housing Bills

FEB. 28th,  NYC CITY HALL - Senator Cordell Cleare was honored to join NYC Council Member Christopher Marte and NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher at a rally to commemorate resolutions put forward by CM Marte to support state and nation-wide efforts to implement social housing. 

The first resolution would create a Social Housing Development Authority (SHDA) in New York through a state bill (S.5674 / A.9088 (last session)). The legislation, sponsored by Senator Cordell Cleare in the Senate and Assembly Member Emily Gallagher in the Assembly seeks to address New York’s housing crisis by establishing a state-level public authority to develop and maintain permanently affordable housing across the state. 

The SHDA bill would provide a robust solution to the city’s and state’s housing shortage by enabling the state to build, acquire, and renovate affordable housing using union labor, with rents capped at 25 percent of residents' incomes. The SHDA would also focus on serving low- and middle-income families, with at least 25 percent of units reserved for those earning 30 percent or less of the Area Median Income (AMI). With a $5 billion initial capitalization, the SHDA could create 26,000 high quality, affordable, green, union-built homes. Eighty-one percent of New York City voters support social housing, and 60 percent support a social housing approach over a private market incentives approach to the housing crisis, according to a 2023 Data for Progress poll. 

"The SHDA," said Senator Cleare,  "is charged with one simple job—build, preserve and protect permanently affordable housing for all New Yorkers where the cost of renting or owning are no more than 25 to 33 percent of total household income. In doing so, we protect whole communities, cultures, families, generations and most of all allow people to have a fantastic quality of life instead of a crushing rent burden dooming them to eventual excommunication from their homes."

For more information on the event and to read the quotes from all attending speakers please refer to the full press release authored by the offices of CM Marte and AM Gallagher. The Press Release and Senate Bill S.5674 which would establish the SHDA are attached to this article.