A recent Marist Poll survey found that 73% of New York residents believe that housing affordability is a major problem in their communities. Concerns were widespread among respondents from very different regions of the state, with 67% of rural residents, 69% of suburban residents, and 81% of urban residents indicating that housing affordability was a major challenge. Residents expressed concerns regardless of party affiliation about the lack of affordable housing, with 71% of all respondents, 72% of registered Democrats, 63% of registered Republicans, and 69% of registered voters not enrolled in a party agreeing that state government needed to provide more resources. The survey was commissioned by the Rural Housing Coalition of New York, an NLIHC state partner dedicated to revitalizing rural New York by strengthening housing and community development providers. The Rural Housing Coalition plans to use the survey results to urge state policymakers to make housing a priority during the 2024 legislative session.
While respondents were unified in their concerns about housing affordability, they were divided about what solutions the state government should prioritize, with 39% indicating the state should prioritize rental assistance, 33% indicating the need to prioritize owner-occupied housing development, and 24% suggesting that the state should boost new rental housing development. Increasing funding for rental assistance vouchers was a top priority for 47% of New York renters, 33% of homeowners, and 42% of rural residents.
“There is no one-size-fits-all solution to housing for a state like New York,” said Mike Borges, executive director of the Rural Housing Coalition of New York. “That’s why the Rural Housing Coalition is calling for the creation of a statewide Housing Task Force. We need to bring stakeholders to the table to develop solutions to the housing crisis that will meet the needs of all New Yorkers.”
Data gathered by NLIHC explain residents’ sentiments about the housing crisis. According to NLIHC’s Out of Reach report, New York has the nation’s fourth highest two-bedroom housing wage – the hourly wage required to afford a two-bedroom rental home – at $40.08/ hour, with New York City’s wage at over $47/ hour. Meanwhile, NLIHC’s Gap report shows that only 32 rental homes are available and affordable for every 100 extremely low-income households in New York, making 87% of those households cost burdened.
Despite the severity of the housing crisis, many policy proposals introduced in New York’s 2023 budget and legislative session failed to advance (see 5-22-23 Memo). The Rural Housing Coalition hopes the new poll will prove that affordable housing is still top of mind for a vast majority of New Yorkers. The coalition plans to make use of the survey data in its testimony at a joint budget hearing in January 2024 and urge lawmakers to increase – not cut – funding for existing housing programs.
Find the full survey results here and the Rural Housing Coalition press release here.