Credit: (Spiller campaign; Sweeney campaign; AP Photo/John Minchillo; Newark Mayor’s Office; AP Photo/Andrew Harnik; NJSN; AP Photo/Mike Catalini; Kranjac campaign; AP Photo/Mike Catalini; Steve Hockstein/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool; Barbera campaign)

Housing is one of the key issues for voters in this year’s gubernatorial primaries and the 11 major-party candidates have notable differences on how to deal with it.

Renting or buying a house in New Jersey is increasingly expensive, with one oft-cited survey placing the need for affordable housing in the state at more than 200,000 units.

Housing affordability is the second-biggest issue for voters, behind the economy, according to an Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill poll earlier this month. A recent Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, done in conjunction with the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, said more than half of adults consider their housing costs unaffordable.

New Jersey has a new process for determining every municipality’s affordable housing obligation and even if all towns were to fulfill their requirements over the next decade, that would still leave the state with fewer than half the homes currently needed. And the new law that created this process does nothing to help people struggling to keep up with rent increases.

NJ Spotlight News pulled together candidates’ positions, including from their answers to a housing question in our voter guide, ahead of the June 10 primary election.

The candidates

Republicans: Justin Barbera, owner of a construction firm; Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Union); Jack Ciattarelli, former state Assembly member; Mario Kranjac, a lawyer and former mayor of Englewood Cliffs; Bill Spadea, former talk radio host.

Democrats: Ras Baraka, mayor of Newark; Steve Fulop, mayor of Jersey City; Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5th); Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th); Sean Spiller, president of the New Jersey Education Association; Steve Sweeney, union leader and former president of state Senate.

Positions on affordable housing

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

Barbera

Credit: (Barbera campaign)

Barbera did not make the debates, and he does not have a website laying out issues. He responded to NJ Spotlight News’ voter guide by saying that he does not agree with the state requirement that all towns provide affordable housing. He would focus on rebuilding cities, including by cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields.

Barbera also said he supports giving rebates to renters whose incomes fall below the poverty line, but did not provide more specifics.

Bramnick

Credit: (Steve Hockstein/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool)

Bramnick would seek to roll back the affordable housing law, saying it leads to “overdevelopment,” which brings overcrowded classrooms and strains emergency services.

During a conversation with three Republican candidates sponsored by NJ Spotlight News on May 7, he said the law “makes no sense,” doesn’t help rebuild urban centers and does not consider infrastructure constraints. After the conversation, Bramnick told reporters he wants to add affordable housing but in the places in the state that want it.

“There are probably places we can build really, really reasonably priced structures, but yet do it on a regional basis,” Bramnick said.

Ciattarelli

Credit: (AP Photo/Mike Catalini, File)

Ciattarelli said during that same conversation with NJ Spotlight News that the affordable housing law is “overdeveloping suburbs, where there’s no mass transit, no infrastructure, no jobs.” He would seek to repeal the law and argue before the New Jersey Supreme Court, whose Mount Laurel decisions require all communities to build their “fair share” of needed affordable homes, that the new law is not sustainable, especially based on other state laws governing stormwater management and flood mitigation.

Adding more housing units to urban areas would help revitalize them — including local businesses, he said after the conversation, adding, “We’ve got to get people to live in our urban centers again, and I think we do that with compelling affordable housing, safe communities, great public schools and recreational opportunities.”

On his campaign website, Ciattarelli said he would support housing growth in urban centers and at transit hubs and the use of regional contribution agreements — currently banned in the state — to allow municipalities to pay other towns to take their housing obligations.

Kranjac

Credit: (Kranjac campaign)

Kranjac did not make the debates, and he has few details about his position on the issue on his website. He does say on it that he would “End High Density Housing Mandates & Recover Damages for Targeted Communities.”

During his eight-year tenure as mayor of Englewood Cliffs, he opposed a settlement with a developer to build affordable housing in the borough.

Spadea

Credit: (AP Photo/Mike Catalini)

During the NJ Spotlight News conversation, Spadea called the Mount Laurel doctrine “a complete and unmitigated disaster.” He said he would end the new law and would “reclassify what an affordable housing unit is.”

Spadea said he would “take those units out of the suburbs and shove them into the cities.” No affordable homes should be built anywhere that lacks energy, transportation and job infrastructure, Spadea said.

Following the conversation, Spadea said that working with federal authorities to deport undocumented immigrants would “free up housing units” for New Jerseyans.

“There’s plenty of housing,” he said. “The problem is that the housing is now used for subsidized illegal aliens.”

Undocumented immigrants are eligible for some emergency or temporary housing services in New Jersey but they are not eligible for the state’s major housing subsidy programs, including Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, the State Rental Assistance Program, the Homelessness Prevention Program or the state-funded Rapid Rehousing Program.

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES

Baraka

Credit: (Newark Mayor’s Office)

During the last debate among Democratic candidates, Baraka said he would declare a state of emergency on housing. He would pull together local officials, housing advocates and others to find the best places to build homes — locations with access to public transit would be prioritized — and then “empower community development organizations” to begin construction, putting clinics and retail locations on the ground floor of buildings.

Baraka also wants to change the current realty transfer fee, the primary source for affordable housing trust funds, to collect more money from the sale of very expensive homes and use the additional funds to support first-time and first-generation home ownership opportunities.

Baraka has a multi-point plan on his website that goes beyond the state’s affordable housing law. Among his proposals are capping rent increases statewide to a cost-of-living adjustment for two years to stabilize costs, regulating investment firms to prevent them from buying up multiple properties and driving up prices, and raising the eviction filing fee — currently $50 — to an unspecified amount. He also would add a fee on for-profit, luxury developments that could be refunded or forgiven if the landlord includes affordable units or keeps rent increases reasonable.

Fulop

Credit: (NJ Spotlight News)

Fulop pledges to draft a new housing plan within his first 100 days in office and make it his first major legislative push. Jersey City and other urban communities that don’t have new construction obligations under current law and are facing housing shortages could have obligations under his plan. He would have the state provide funding for schools, roads and other infrastructure needs in municipalities meeting their fair-share obligations by building new units and would reward municipalities that allow what are known as in-law apartments. He would streamline approvals for these homes and set up a database that would rank municipal compliance with the law.

Fulop also would rework state subsidies, create a consistent tax abatement policy for affordable units statewide and require that new affordable units remain deed-restricted forever.

During the last debate, Fulop said overriding municipal preferences would be problematic, “but there certainly are places around mass transit property that the state should control the zoning.”

Fulop would enact “clear guidelines” for rent increases designed to “protect tenants but remain fair to landlords.” He would also give renters the right to pro bono counsel in eviction proceedings and give municipalities state funding and technical resources to implement this.

Gottheimer

Credit: (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Gottheimer says he would promote the redevelopment of abandoned properties into housing or mixed-use developments and transit-oriented development. He would also repurpose publicly owned land for housing.

Gottheimer would create a new housing production fund to provide below-market interest rates and gap financing for construction. He would also streamline permitting and reallocate tax-exempt low-income housing tax credits to “make our housing dollars go further.”

Gottheimer’s plan includes some unique ideas, including incentives for municipalities to reduce lot sizes selectively for the construction of starter homes for first-time buyers, developing standardized, pre-approval housing designs to expedite the process and permit “leasehold” homes, in which the buyer owns the structure but leases the land, which makes the cost more affordable.

Sherrill

Credit: (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

During the last debate, Sherrill said she would make the state’s first-time home buyer program, which provides a maximum $15,000 in down-payment assistance, “more robust,” without providing details. She also pledged to streamline state permitting by eliminating redundancies among offices and set deadlines for project approvals.

Sherrill has a six-point housing plan in which she pledges to increase access to loans and tax credits, provide technical help and incentives to municipalities to build a range of housing options, including starter homes and in-law apartments, and oppose fund diversions from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

“We should work collaboratively with local governments on the conversion of underused office parks, strip malls, and industrial properties into homes, transit-oriented development, and mixed-use projects, which increases housing inventory while minimizing sprawl,” she states in that plan.

Sherrill also said she would crack down on predatory investors, landlords and lenders who are buying up rental properties, colluding to set rents above market levels and don’t take care of their buildings.

Spiller

Credit: (NJEA)

On his website, Spiller lists six priorities for housing, starting with building more than the 200,000 needed homes to address the state’s shortage. He pledged to “partner with municipalities to meet their obligations without the overdevelopment” that includes luxury units.

Spiller would also seek to limit corporate purchases of properties that he says lead to higher costs and establish “statewide benchmarks” for rent increases, without providing more specifics. He would invest in foreclosure and eviction prevention programs and work with banks to get foreclosed properties back on the market more quickly.

He also said he would prioritize homeowner assistance programs for people of color who “too long have been systematically left out of homeownership opportunities.”

Sweeney

Credit: (Sweeney campaign)

In his housing plan, Sweeney pledged to increase the first-time homebuyer program to $25,000, up from $22,000, for down payment assistance and closing costs. He would allow for more tax credits to build homes. And he also would allow seniors to keep their property-tax benefits when they move within the state, even if it is to a rental apartment.

Sweeney said during the last debate that he would reward municipalities that are “doing the right thing” with additional funding for transportation projects and property-tax relief, but take affordable housing trust funds from towns that have not spent the funds within four years and have the state buy land and build housing with that money. And he would sign an executive order related to housing if towns don’t start building what is required.

“It’s too expensive to buy a house because home rule is controlling the decisions,” he said. “It’s been fifty years since Mount Laurel. When’s time up?”

How would the candidates running for New Jersey governor tackle affordability in the Garden State?

With the gubernatorial primary less than two months away, candidates from both parties are crisscrossing the state to appeal to voters about issues that impact their lives and New Jersey overall.

But that field of candidates — six Democrats and three major, as well as two minor, Republican options — can be intimidating to those that don’t usually have time to pay significant attention to the people in power throughout the Garden State.

The USA TODAY Network New Jersey surveyed nine of the candidates on topics ranging from transit to taxes, affordability and the environment to give residents a frame of reference on where the potential nominees from each party stand.

The candidates are listed alphabetically by party and include for the Democrats Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, New Jersey Education Association president Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Sweeney. and for the Republicans state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former Assemblyman and previous nominee Jack Ciattarelli, and radio personality Bill Spadea.

The responses have been edited for clarity and space.

What would you do to lower New Jersey taxes?

Baraka: My economic plan would flatten or lower taxes for half of New Jersey households — those earning $90,000 or less — while raising taxes on those earning over $2 million annually.

Fulop: Cutting taxes means getting smarter about spending. I’ll consolidate overlapping agencies, modernize operations like the MVC, and end corporate giveaways that don’t create jobs. In Jersey City, we balanced the budget and delivered services without relying on tax breaks for luxury developers. That’s the model I’ll bring to Trenton.

Gottheimer: I’m running as the “Lower Taxes, Lower Costs” Governor who will make Jersey more affordable. My expert-backed “Tax Cut Plan for Jersey” cuts property taxes by nearly 15 percent for everyone, gives renters an annual tax rebate, lowers income taxes for middle-class families, includes a “Stay in Jersey” tax break for seniors, and incentivizes people and jobs to come to Jersey to strengthen our economy. My “Lower Costs Plan for Jersey” will double the state Child Tax Credit and produce more clean and alternative energy, and lower the cost of housing, childcare, utility bills, healthcare, and food—five of the biggest ticket items in a family’s budget. We need to stop nickel-and-diming Jersey families with outrageous fees and taxes.

Sherrill: I am committed to providing tax relief for New Jersey families. As governor, I will work with municipalities to drive down property taxes through healthcare reforms like third-party auditing of State Health Benefits Plan claims, as well as by unlocking the potential of shared public services. I will also expand New Jersey’s Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit to bring relief to middle-class families.

Spiller: I approach this from the standpoint of affordability and making sure residents have more money in their pockets at the end of the day. Our highest earners and wealthiest corporations need to pay their fair share and we should adopt best practices such as closing corporate loopholes and strengthening combined reporting requirements.

Sweeney: Under a Sweeney administration, I will not raise taxes on New Jersey residents. Our state is already taxed out, and we should find new efficiencies and revenue sources to generate revenue.

Bramnick: I would lower the income tax by 10% over three years and cut property taxes by increasing school funding from the state while mandating that increased school funding be matched by reductions in the local school tax rate.

Ciattarelli: I have a detailed plan on my website that would cap property taxes, freeze them for seniors, cut business taxes in half and lower income taxes across the board.

Spadea: My plan would phase out the education portion of property taxes for seniors (age 55+) over a 15-year period. Additionally, we will lower our CBT to be competitive with our neighbors which will bring in more ratables and lower taxes for the average tax-payer. We will implement school choice, which will lower education costs — and taxes.

Who’s running for NJ governor in 2025?: These candidates are set to debate in May

Do you support the tax relief initiative known as StayNJ? Would you continue to fund it?

Baraka: StayNJ would not be a priority. While I understand the concerns of seniors being taxed out of their homes, we can’t justify such high expenditures when many of the benefits go to people making up to $500,000 a year, especially when we have urgent needs among our most vulnerable residents.

Fulop: Yes. StayNJ is a meaningful step toward helping seniors afford to stay in their homes, and I support it. But it shouldn’t stop there. We’ll work on broader property tax reform and make sure relief goes to families across age groups who are struggling with the cost of living.

Gottheimer: My expert-backed “Tax Cut Plan for Jersey” cuts property taxes by nearly 15% for everyone, gives renters an annual tax rebate, lowers income taxes for middle-class families, and includes a “Stay in Jersey” tax break for seniors. Seniors who have lived in Jersey will receive a $1,000 tax bonus when they turn 70 to help them stay here and retire here. My plan meets our pension obligations and is fully paid for without cutting the important programs and services that Jersey families and seniors rely on.

Sherrill: Up and down the state, property taxes are one of the top concerns I hear about and I am committed to lowering costs for families. We have no way to know what state revenues will look like in 12 to 15 months or how much needed federal funding will be ripped away by Trump, but cutting back any direct tax relief program would be a last resort in my first or my last budget as governor. It is the most direct way our state government can improve affordability for New Jerseyans.

Spiller: Yes. We should support programs such as Stay NJ, ANCHOR, and Senior Freeze to make life more affordable for those retiring in New Jersey. As governor, I will look to streamline these programs and make sure that homeowners and renters have access to affordability programs so they can live securely in their retirement.

Sweeney: I would fully fund Stay NJ. Our seniors are facing enough threats to the programs they rely on in retirement, and now is the time to make sure we have their backs.

Bramnick: I support the reduction of property taxes for our senior citizens and voted for the legislation.

Ciattarelli: Trenton Democrats are notorious for taking $10,000 out of your lefthand pocket and then putting $1,000 in your righthand pocket and calling it tax relief. It’s a scam. I would lower taxes and stop taking so much of people’s hard-earned money in the first place.

Spadea: No. It is not sustainable and will be a budget buster for future governors if not eliminated. Our plan will actually reduce property taxes for those aged 55+.

What would you do to counteract New Jersey’s housing crisis?

Baraka: A few things. First, I would cap rent increases for two years at the cost of living adjustment to stabilize the market. Second, I would launch a First Loss Capital Fund through our State Bank to jumpstart housing development — especially near public transit hubs, where it’s most needed.

Fulop: We’ll double affordable housing production, support Accessory Dwelling Units in suburban towns, expand tax credit access, and pass consistent state-level zoning incentives. In Jersey City, we passed Right to Counsel, built mixed-income projects like Bayfront, and reformed zoning to encourage affordability. That’s the blueprint for the rest of the state.

Gottheimer: A place to start is to lower property taxes and help renters with a tax credit. My expert-backed tax cut plan does both. I will lower property taxes for homeowners by nearly 15% and give renters a tax cut. In addition, we need to build more workforce and senior housing, housing that’s affordable near mass transit, and we should utilize abandoned office parks. I will look for ways to speed up the development process, cut red tape that’s holding up new construction, and find new, innovative models of homeownership and financing to help younger families and seniors.

Sherrill: As governor, I will build more housing and lower prices through innovative solutions: converting underutilized infrastructure and commercial buildings into housing units, working collaboratively with municipalities to build a range of housing options like workforce housing and Missing Middle units, expanding first-time homebuyer programs, and cracking down on landlords who illegally fix their prices and don’t maintain their properties.

Spiller: As governor, I would work to fill the 230,000-unit shortage in affordable housing. This must be done without overreliance on developers, who build a few affordable units to qualify to build many luxury ones. I would also limit corporate buy-up of properties and establish statewide benchmarks for rent increases to prevent tenants from being priced out of their homes. My administration would also invest in tenant services.

Sweeney: The average home in New Jersey costs half a million dollars. We need to cut red tape and regulations that stifle the building of new, affordable housing within our state, and we need to provide more pathways for young residents to be able to afford a home, like additional down payment assistance for young families.

Bramnick: I would end the town-by-town affordable housing mandates and return to a regional approach for affordable housing in the state. Hundreds of local governments and hundreds of thousands of residents have made it very clear that the current system is unworkable. The state can have affordable housing, but it does not have to be mandated as currently required under the current system.

Ciattarelli: I have a detailed plan to fix our affordable housing mess. In short, I would take a regional approach — focused on driving population growth to transit hubs and urban centers, where self-sustaining local economies are desperately needed.

Spadea: We’re going to end New Jersey high-density housing mandates and revert back to a plan which allows the trading of units from the suburbs to the cities. Affordable housing should be built in cities with the infrastructure to handle it, not in the suburbs.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

As city elections approach, John Ewing emphasizes the need for change, drawing on his 43 years of service and commitment to collaborating with the community to improve city governance.

Ewing plans to enhance affordable housing and expand urban infrastructure in North and South Omaha while advocating for revised zoning laws to facilitate the construction of multi-unit homes like duplexes and triplexes.

He also highlights the importance of addressing staffing shortages in the Omaha police department, promoting a culturally sensitive and well-trained force that actively listens to and engages with the community.

As city elections approach, KMTV is taking the time to talk to each of the mayoral candidates. John Ewing Jr. discusses his vision for managing the city.

During our conversation, Ewing emphasized the need for a change, highlighting his 43 years of service, characterized by integrity and collaboration with the community, and is focusing on building partnerships to improve city governance.

“It’s time to bring services to the people of this community that they deserve,” said Ewing.

Ewing says he has many improvement plans, some of which include affordable housing and expanding urban infrastructure plans to North and South Omaha. He believes in revising zoning laws to allow for more affordable housing options.

“We have zoning laws that require or limit you to be able to build one house on some of the lots, and I think we need to look at those and see if we can do double houses or duplexes, triplexes, those types of things to increase the density. And then what that does is that makes it more affordable per unit for a developer to be able to build and someone to be able to buy,” Ewing said.

Another key area Ewing thinks needs to be addressed is staffing shortages in the Omaha police department. Advocating for a positive environment that supports both officers and the communities they serve.

“You build that brick by brick, interaction by interaction, so you have to make sure that you have a well-trained police department that’s culturally sensitive to the people that they’re policing with. You have to do more listening as a police department in terms of helping people address their problems,” Ewing said.

On the topic of police staffing, Ewing said he would try to boost retention by revising the pension.

“One of the things I look at is that they pay 17% into their pension fund. That’s a significant amount of money. While the restaurant tax was designed to strengthen the pension fund, not all of the money from the restaurant tax is actually going to do that. So I would look at a city charter change to actually have more of that money going into strengthening the pension, then you can actually reduce the amount that the officers have to pay and the firefighters as well have to pay into that pension fund which would be a great tool for retention,” Ewing said.

During the interview, Ewing also put a strong emphasis on improving social structures that contribute to homelessness. Addressing issues such as homelessness and drug addiction requires a comprehensive approach, emphasizing flexible shelter options and ongoing support for individuals with mental health and addiction challenges.

“We have to increase capacity, we have to increase flexibility so we can get people in the shelters, but we also have to take care of their needs and meet them where they’re at and then have continuous follow up because if someone has a mental health issue and they take their medication and then they start to feel better they may very well then go back to not taking it and end up in the same spot again same thing with drug addiction we have to make sure they’re continuing to follow up with their course of treatment so that they then don’t go back into the system,” Ewing said.

Ewing told KMTV he’s a nuts and bolts guy, and that’s why he believes he can get the job done.

Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo is rolling out a housing plan that seeks to build 500,000 new apartments in New York City over 10 years, but the blueprint is light on some key specifics and contains few novel policy prescriptions for how to achieve the ambitious goal.

The plan, which was exclusively shared with the Daily News ahead of its Sunday release, touts Cuomo’s years of relevant experience, first as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the late 1990s and then as governor between 2011 and 2021. The 29-page proposal is presented as a roadmap for how Cuomo, as a seasoned government veteran, can turn the tide on the city’s housing crisis, which has caused rents to skyrocket amid a dearth of vacant apartments and surging demand.

The plan from Cuomo, who’s polling as the frontrunner to win this June’s Democratic mayoral primary, says “most” of the half million apartments he envisions constructing by 2035 would be “affordable for the majority of people who live here now or would relocate here but can’t afford the cost.”

The plan doesn’t specify exactly how many of the 500,000 units would be affordable, or provide detailed breakdowns on affordability parameters that a Cuomo administration would require for private developers to build the apartments in question.

A Cuomo campaign official said the goal is for two thirds of the proposed 500,000 units to be affordable. The official told The News the ex-governor can’t make a commitment to that effect, though, due to complicating factors, such as construction costs and how they’ll be impacted by President Trump’s aggressive tariff policies.

The plan says an apartment is generally considered affordable if the rent doesn’t exceed 30% of the income of a household earning 60% of the neighborhood’s median — a calculus some advocates have said produces units that are too expensive for too many residents.

Mayor Adams, who dropped out of the Democratic primary this month to instead seek reelection as an independent in November, also vowed in 2022 to produce 500,000 new units over 10 years, a benchmark experts say his administration is behind on.

Cuomo’s primary opponents have made big promises, too, like Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who vows to as mayor build or preserve 1 million apartments in 10 years, and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, whose housing plan centers on freezing rent for stabilized tenants and building 200,000 new stabilized units.

Cuomo’s campaign declined to make him available for an interview with The News about his plan. But Cuomo said in a written statement that it “meets the scale of the crisis.”

“If working people can’t afford to live here, then this won’t be New York anymore. We must stop talking and effectively address our housing crisis or we risk losing the soul of New York City,” said Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid sexual misconduct accusations he denies. “We must build, preserve, and protect — at a pace and scale we’ve never done before.”

In pushing for a housing production boost, Cuomo’s plan largely relies on existing programs, like the 485-x tax incentive for developers, as opposed to new proposals, arguing the levers at New York’s disposal are potent, but need to be used in a better way.

There are some new initiatives, such as a proposal to exempt faith-based institutions from having to go through lengthy zoning processes if they want to add housing on their properties, a suggestion the plan says could produce tens of thousands of new affordable apartments. The plan also proposes leveraging the city’s public pension funds to help finance affordable housing development and creating a program that’d subsidize housing for municipal workers — ideas some of the other mayoral candidates have previously floated, including Comptroller Brad Lander.

One area where Cuomo distinguishes himself from other mayoral candidates is his plan’s commitment to oppose — at least for now — most zoning changes that’d allow for the construction of taller buildings with more apartments in “low-density neighborhoods.” The issue has become a political hot potato amid Adams’ “City of Yes” citywide rezoning plan, which proposes to build “a little more housing in every neighborhood,” including suburban outer-borough areas, where opposition to such development is strong.

When it comes to funding, Cuomo’s plan cites experts as saying an “increase of nearly $1 billion” per year in affordable housing subsidies over current levels would be necessary to achieve 500,000 new units in a decade.

The Cuomo campaign official said the ex-governor would actually like to see an increase of at least $1 billion. The campaign did not, however, identify funding streams for such an increase other than to say the bill should be footed by both the city and the state.

Housing production subsidies often come in the form of tax breaks for developers who commit to making a certain number of new units affordable, and Cuomo’s plan leans heavily on 485-x, which Gov. Hochul signed into law in 2022 to replace the expiring 421-a program.

The plan says Cuomo’s administration would work to ensure 485-x “sufficiently incentivizes new development” and then warns the program is at risk of creating “substantially less housing development” than its predecessor as it’s less “economically attractive” than 421-a because of “deeper affordability requirements.”

To that end, the plan says Cuomo would as mayor potentially seek to “reconvene stakeholders to identify changes” to 485-x “that can protect stakeholder interests,” indicating he’s open to peeling back some of the program’s affordability protections.

Cuomo, whose mayoral election efforts have drawn hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from real estate developers, also wrote in the plan he’s supportive of “City of Yes,” which stands to create about 82,000 new units over 15 years, calling it “an important step.”

The plan says “further rezoning” is needed to get to the 500,000 benchmark. But it doesn’t pinpoint any new areas ripe for rezonings, only stating that “identifying additional commercial and manufacturing suitable for residential zoning is an important element of Andrew Cuomo’s Housing agenda.”