Housing with Scott Budow, candidate NYS-AD-52
Here’s a pop quiz to start off the new year! What do Boise, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Austin all have in common?
Yes, they’re all U.S. cities, but more importantly, they all built more housing and then quickly saw rents drop. As Tony Blair said, what matters is what works, and building more housing clearly works to address affordability.
New York City, where I’m from, is still debating whether that’s true. We’re the most rent-burdened metro area in the United States. We haven’t built enough housing for decades, in part because we have the second most restrictive zoning rules of any city. Indeed, just in the last decade, New York City welcomed 800,000 new people but built only 200,000 new homes. The Mayor gets it – that’s why he introduced the City of Yes proposal to build 100,000 new units throughout the city. We should support that plan, but if you’re only focusing on the city, you’re missing the most significant action. Governor Hochul – another pro-housing leader – introduced the New York Housing Compact last year, which would help create 800,000 new housing units throughout New York City and New York State. With housing affordability being the top issue for New Yorkers, and Democrats in complete control of state government, you might think the Governor’s proposal would be a layup. Unfortunately, proponents of the status quo refused to support the Governor’s plan, and it died without even getting a vote.
I’m a Democratic candidate for the New York State Assembly, and I’m challenging one of the people who rallied against the Governor’s housing plan. She has described herself as “generally anti-development” and her record is consistent with that description. Unlike her, my top priority is voting yes on the Governor’s New York Housing Compact (or something substantially similar), and I’m running because we need legislators who put housing affordability first.
Building more housing will create good-paying jobs, and building denser housing will lower our carbon footprint. But the real reason we should support more housing is because it’s the only way New York City is going to maintain its identity as a vibrant, diverse city, affordable to people from many walks of life.
About Scott Budow
Scott is running because New York need bold proposals to address long-standing structural issues. Democrats have had unified control in Albany for the past five years, but housing affordability has worsened, educational disparities persist, hunger continues, and healthcare is too expensive and inaccessible. In other areas vital to Democratic voters, such as curbing gun violence and expanding voting rights, we must do significantly more. It's time for a new approach. Visit his campaign website, here.