New York City's Affordability Crisis

New York Real Estate Practice Group Leader Stuart Saft wrote an article for the New York Law Journal dissecting the city's affordability crisis and proposing solutions to break the cycle of increasing costs and taxes. Mr. Stuart begins by highlighting data around the expanding city and state budgets, decreasing state population and public school student enrollment, and increasing taxes (and taxpayers leaving) and housing costs – all of which creates a cycle in which higher-income earners flee, tax burdens shift to lower-income individuals, affordability goes down and cost of living goes up. Mr. Saft contends the solution is a combination of increasing wages and reducing costs, and the remainder of his article focuses on lowering housing costs. He points to how New York addressed a housing shortage in the 1920s by enacting a 10-year tax exemption for new construction, importantly accompanied by removing barriers and "let[ting] builders build," as a model for what to do now. He also calls for limiting rent stabilization and rent control measures, arguing rent regulation en masse locks out affordable housing for those who truly need it. His article combines historical analysis with lived experience as a longtime practitioner to break down what's behind New York's lack of affordability and lay out steps to address it.

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