The Fair Share for Housing Coalition calls for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature to comply with the recommendation that $492 million worth of housing-related bank settlements go to housing.
At present, zero of the $5.4 billion is slated for housing in the 2016 Executive Budget, despite $492 million being directly tied to mortgage misconduct. We know the governor has supported affordable housing for his entire career and had led numerous efforts to secure resources for housing. Today, the need is more severe than ever. Given the impact of the foreclosure crisis and the severity of our affordability problem, New York state must invest every dollar received in housing-related settlements back into housing recovery.
These funds borne out of mortgage misconduct represent restitution to impacted communities still struggling with high foreclosure rates and housing affordability. Bank of America and Citigroup settlements clearly state: “The payment to state of New York shall be used, to the maximum extent possible, for purposes of redeveloping and revitalizing housing and home ownership and rebuilding communities in the state.” The Ocwen Financial Corp. settlement states, “to be used by the state of New York for housing, foreclosure relief and community redevelopment programs supporting New York’s housing recovery.”
This funding should not be allocated to purposes unrelated to housing or be used to substitute funding for existing housing programs.
The Fair Share for Housing Coalition, launched last week and led by the New York Housing Conference, already has the support of 89 organizations, each demanding state lawmakers and Gov. Cuomo heed the recommendations to direct $492 million to housing.
Rachel Fee
New York City
Executive Director, New York Housing Conference