JSA2026 Commonwealth Budget: Volume XV

Housing, Homelessness, and Real Estate Accountability

Jason S. Arnold for Governor of New York
Published: May 12, 2025
Contact: jaysarnold@icloud.com | (516) 586-0660 | https://jsa2026.com/

Introduction

Volume XV addresses one of the most misunderstood failures in New York State government: the housing crisis. Behind headlines about rent stabilization and homelessness is a tangle of poorly tracked subsidies, inflated development deals, and city-state dysfunction. We pay billions to manage misery but rarely invest to solve it.

This volume aims to untangle the web of real estate influence, audit housing agencies, and redirect funding toward permanent, accountable solutions.

Review Categories

Each section includes:

• Total FY2026 Spending
• Top Issues
• Reform Notes
• Recommendation

1. NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR)

Total Spending: $4.7 Billion

• $2.2B in developer tax credits with no affordability metrics
• $1.1B in block grants with little public tracking
• $800M for low-income housing units with years-long waitlists
• $600M in rent subsidy shortfalls

Reform Notes: Misaligned incentives: developers profit while low-income families wait.

Recommendation: Tie all future credits to time-bound affordability benchmarks; publish all award recipients and cost/unit data.

2. Emergency Housing + Homeless Services (OTDA + Local Contracts)

Total Spending: $5.4 Billion

• $2.6B to shelters with 60%+ returning clients
• $1.4B to emergency hotel contracts (many indefinite)
• $900M to NGOs with no long-term exit strategy
• $500M to unlicensed or uninspected housing partners

Reform Notes: A revolving door model that manages crisis but rarely ends it.

Recommendation: Cap shelter stays at 90 days unless in verified treatment or employment. Require outcome-based renewal for all vendors.

3. NYCHA & Public Housing Authorities

Total Spending: $3.3 Billion (state + federal share)

• $1.8B in deferred maintenance + emergency repairs
• $700M in admin bloat + board overhead
• $500M in procurement fraud investigations
• $300M lost annually in rent delinquency and unit misuse

Reform Notes: Residents wait while the system protects itself.

Recommendation: Federalize NYCHA oversight for 5 years. Create tenant-led project councils with binding veto power on local contracts.

4. Real Estate Development Incentives (ESD, IDAs, 421-a, etc.)

Total Spending: $6.8 Billion

• $3.2B in tax abatements for luxury or underutilized builds
• $2.1B in direct grants to politically connected firms
• $900M in underreported IDA allocations
• $600M lost from expired 421-a without replacement plan

Reform Notes: Albany subsidizes glass towers while ignoring renters.

Recommendation: Suspend all new abatements until backlogged housing demand is met. Shift incentives to rehab and multi-family zoning in distressed towns.

Closing Statement

The housing crisis is not an accident—it’s engineered by a system that rewards stagnation, not solutions. Volume XV rips back the curtain and offers a new path: data-first, results-based, and people-powered.

New York doesn’t need more temporary shelter. It needs permanent accountability.

Jason S. Arnold
Candidate for Governor, New York
https://jsa2026.com/
(516) 586-0660 | jaysarnold@icloud.com
#JSA2026 #CommonwealthBudget #FixNewYork #TheRightOne #HousingCrisis #EndTheCycle