Hochul’s Proposed 421-A Replacement Is In For a Fight, Key Lawmakers Signal

After Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her State of the State address in early January, housing organizers issued a bitter rebuke.

“On housing, Governor Hochul is continuing the worst of Cuomo’s legacy,” said the Housing Justice for All coalition in a statement. The group singled out one policy in particular: the 421-a tax break for real estate developers, which Hochul promised to let expire—only to replace it with a new, substantially similar tax break. 

The details of Hochul’s proposed 421-a revamp, unveiled two weeks later in her executive budget, did little to allay criticism. Dubbed the Affordable Neighborhoods for New Yorkers Tax Incentive, or 485-w, it would deepen the program’s affordability requirements and slightly increase wage requirements for construction and building service workers in the largest buildings.