Two days after signing the $229-billion state budget, which was stripped of a massive plan to expand housing options, Gov. Kathy Hochul returned to the topic Friday, releasing a draft report that finds fault with many aspects of fair housing policies and practices.
The Fair Housing Matters NY report, which invites public comments, looks at housing segretation and discrimination around the state, and identifies eight goals to improve the chances of residents moving into the homes and neighborhoods where they want to live.
Those goals include:
- Build upon opportunities for wealth creation through affordable home ownership.
- Increase access to suitable affordable housing for those with disabilities.
- Create more affordable housing with avenues for community supports.
- Remove barriers to housing by addressing redlining and disinvestment in neighborhoods.
- Increase access to affordable housing by addressing barriers to housing choice.
- Increase access to affordable housing through fair housing education and enforcement.
- Promote development of affordable housing in areas where land use and development regulations provide barriers.
- Implement environmental justice principles in state-funded housing in response to climate change.
The report, the governor’s office said, found that:
- Approximately one-third of New Yorkers live in highly white/nonwhite segregated counties, 44 percent living in such counties downstate.
- Approximately 95 percent of Black/African American households in New York live in a county that is highly segregated between Black/African American and white households.
- Two-thirds of white households own their homes, compared to only a third of Black/African American households and a quarter of Hispanic/Latinx households that own their homes.
- Women and children experience poverty at higher rates in all regions of the state than men and adults.
- Households containing a member with a disability are much more likely to be classified as extremely low-income.
Residents are invited to read the report and comment by emailing fairhousingmattersny@
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