Affordability, especially lowering housing costs, enjoys bipartisan political support — at least in theory. But affordability is a goal, not a specific program, and even progressive Democrats can break with each other on how to achieve it. That’s the lesson learned from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent housing proposal, one that sets the relatively moderate Democrat apart from progressive New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Other Democrats should pay close attention and choose their approach carefully.
Their differing proposals contrast in broad ways that transcend housing — less regulation or more; increased private supply or additional government subsidies; courting a key interest group or risking the anger of political activists.
During her State of the State address last week, Hochul proposed what she calls the “Let Them Build” program. Its linchpin is a relaxation of New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act, which the governor characterized as adding “unnecessary costs and years of needless delays” to housing development and slowing down projects “by an average of two years, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars per project.” Hochul’s push to cut red tape is remarkable to hear from a Democratic governor of a deep blue state, but rising housing costs have led some Democrats to embrace unwinding burdensome regulations.
Read more in the Washington Post here.
