Lawmakers fear Hochul housing plan would benefit from late budget

ALBANY — Headed into the final week of negotiations before a state budget is due, Gov. Kathy Hochul so far isn’t budging on her proposal to create a hammer that could override local zoning laws in order to build more homes and apartments in neighborhoods. But neither is the State Legislature in so far refusing to agree to such “heavy-handed” power.

Legislators are concerned that Hochul will delay approval of a budget beyond Friday night’s midnight deadline to trigger the extraordinary powers — provided by the state constitution and court rulings — for a governor to craft a budget, according to sources close to the private negotiations on both sides of the issue.

If Hochul extends negotiations beyond Friday, lawmakers’ pay will be withheld until a budget is approved. And once a budget is late, the state constitution empowers governors to impose their policy objectives in an emergency spending measure. That would leave the legislature the choice of either accepting the whole emergency measure or shutting down the government.

The sources in the executive and legislative branches note, however, that although there’s been no retreat yet by either side, a compromise is still possible in the coming days.

Hochul reminded legislators last week that she used these extraordinary powers before.

Last year, Hochul held up her first budget for several priorities, including changes to the 2019 bail reform law, which eliminated bail for most nonviolent felonies. She used the budget deal to empower judges with more discretion to set bail for dangerous suspects.

“If history is any indicator, I think people know that I feel very strong about certain issues,” Hochul said Wednesday. “That is the only reason our budget was nine days late last year … I feel confident we are able to achieve an on-time budget. If we don’t, it will be because there are continuing discussions about matters I consider extremely important.”

Hochul seeks to increase housing by 3% downstate

Hochul said the provision to provide the state the power to override local zoning laws and officials is a cornerstone of her proposal to increase housing by 3% downstate and 1% upstate over the next three years to start.

Opposition grew fierce last week.

“This proposal has a particular impact on Long Island,” said Assemb. Edward Ra (R-Franklin Square), the Republicans’ ranking member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. “All we’re asking is to our allow our locally elected officials to do their job and not have the state step in with heavy-handed mandates.”

Sen. Steven Rhodes (R-Bellmore) put it more bluntly: “We don’t have an emperor in the state of New York.”

Hochul wants to see 800,000 more housing units built over the next decade statewide. She said that will make homes more affordable for families and young New Yorkers, attract more employers and end an element of local zoning that researchers say has been used to limit the number of minorities in mostly white suburbs.

A Feb. 27 Siena College Research Institute poll showed affordable housing ranking third among all issues the state should focus on after crime and the related issue of cost of living.

On Long Island, Hochul has set a target of 38,218 new housing units between 2023 and 2025. In comparison to the 3% growth target, she said, Long Island only increased housing by 0.56% from 2018 to 2019.

Several independent studies back up Hochul’s contention that the state must have the power to overrule local zoning if necessary.

“Both practice and theory suggest that local governments will not fix these problems themselves,” said a study by the New York University Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Planning.

Connecticut, New Jersey allow zoning to be overridden

States including Connecticut and New Jersey already let developers sidestep local zoning restrictions if projects are denied for reasons other than public safety.

In New York, the Senate and Assembly Democratic majorities support the goal of increasing housing, but they rejected Hochul’s method to do so. Instead, they want to double Hochul’s proposal that would provide $250 million to local governments to help pay for roads, sewer and water services and another $20 million to help pay for planning.

“We believe we can get there with incentives, principally,” said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers). “The only way we are going to be successful is if we have buy-in.”

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said legislators are reluctant to overrule local officials and constituents who want to retain the character of their neighborhoods and protect their greatest investments.

“State legislators are very respectful of their localities … to what community boards feel,” Heastie said. “Overriding local boards is not something the legislature is thrilled to even consider.”

Assembly Republican leader Will Barclay said the power of the governor to impose her provision is a concern. Veteran Sen. James Tedisco (R-Scotia) said Hochul now appears to be in a spot where she must stand her ground on the issue and use her budget powers “or she may look excessively weak … it’s a definite concern.”

Many Democrats tried to strike a more optimistic tone.

“Ideally,” said Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown), “we hope to have a budget that’s on time. But we’ll see.”

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.