The Ugly New York New York’s housing crisis is emblematic of the country’s greater shortage, with restrictive local regulations and extensive permitting processes making building difficult, especially for homes with lower costs, such as apartments, houses on small lots, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in garages or backyards. Legislators proposed the New York Housing Compact to increase housing supply and combat exclusionary zoning in early 2023. The law aimed to produce 800,000 new homes over the next decade, incentivize affordable housing production, promote transit-oriented development, align new growth with the state's climate goals, and fast-track the appeals process for affordable housing in non-compliant localities. The program would also have given developers more time to comply with the tax exemption known as 421a, as pandemic-related construction slowdowns have hindered the ability to finish projects in the exemption’s timeline. The New York Housing Compact failed to pass into legislation, with disagreements among political parties and resistance from suburban legislators in communities that favor single-family homes undermining the process. Supporters of the legislation also felt the boldness of the proposal required more time to educate communities before being put to a vote. Lawmakers in the state are still hoping to return to the table with a revised proposal, but in the meantime, the state’s affordability issues are still a major concern, and the regulatory hurdles developers face in the state will persist. Legislative failures in New York had immediate repercussions for developers, who were supposed to see rezoning and increased housing production potential before 421a, a key tax break, expired. Ever since 421a expired in June, filings for multifamily housing took a dive and some developers have offloaded projects out of fear of missing the construction deadlines necessary to receive the tax break. Developers must have foundation footings in ground by June of 2022 and be completed by June 15, 2026 to qualify for the break. Governor Kathy Hochul proposed adding four more years to the deadline, but lawmakers would only support an extension for certain projects. 10