Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The recently approved state budget includes some significant investment to address the state's affordable housing crisis, which includes tens of millions of dollars in funding to construct homes for Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Binghamton.
On Tuesday, members of the New York State legislature and members of the Buffalo Common Council joined housing advocates and other community stakeholders to speak specifically to two pilot programs, championed and conceived by Senator Sean Ryan, that will come to fruition for Buffalo and other major cities with the help of $80 million in the state budget.
"We all want to break the status quo of Buffalo's housing policy," said Senator Ryan on a vacant lot on Glenwood Ave.
"If every house that was demolished in the last 20 years was still paying taxes, Buffalo would have a budget surplus as opposed to a budget deficit. But in last few years, Buffalo's population has turned, it's starting to go up again. The problem is, we don't have enough housing to take care of that modest growth, just 10,000 people over the course of a decade have moved into Buffalo and you can feel the squeeze on the housing market."
The first pilot program will allocate $40 million to New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) to construct one- and two-family homes in Buffalo as well as Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Binghamton. Funding will cover construction costs and subsidize the sale of new homes to the low-to-moderate income families.
The other $40 million is designed to help the small landlords throughout Upstate New York apply for grants to help them make improvements to their rental properties. In exchange for grants, landlords will be mandated to rent the fixed units at affordable rate determined by the HCR for 10 years.
"This community deserves to have equity in their homes," adds the senator. "This community deserves savings over the years, reflected in a house that they own. It's a chance to build generational wealth, something that's been denied to Buffalonians for too long. And if you want to create safe and strong neighborhoods, you have to start with the homeownership base. When people have skin in the game, they're more invested in their communities, they're more invested in their schools, they're more invested in their surroundings."
The budget also includes $10 million for emergency rental prevention funds to help counties outside of NYC assist households that are facing eviction which will keep people housed and get delinquent rents paid to the landlords. They money will be distributed based on the rate of eviction filings and community need, administered by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
"If you look around and see these vacant lots, they represented the unmaking of community. This program bound by the senator represents the beginning of the remaking of community," notes Dr. Henry Louis Taylor, director of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo.