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Cuomo Unveils Vision for an Affordable New York City

Key Proposals Include Make Housing More Affordable, Guarantee Universal 3-K and Childcare Options, Affordable Transportation, and Targeted Tax Relief

New York City was forged by the hopes and determination of immigrants who came through Ellis Island in search of a better future. That is our legacy and our reminder that New York City should be for everyone, not just the wealthy. With the right leadership, we will restore affordability, and ensure that New York remains a place where all people have the opportunity to succeed.

Governor Cuomo’s Affordability Plan Can Be Found Here

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, a candidate for mayor, today announced a comprehensive plan to combat the affordability crisis facing New York City. With skyrocketing housing costs, rising everyday expenses, and stagnating wages, New York City has become increasingly unaffordable for middle-and lower-income residents. The Governor’s vision aims to provide targeted relief and structural reforms to improve affordability and sustain economic growth.  

“New York City was forged by the hopes and determination of immigrants who came through Ellis Island in search of a better future,” Governor Cuomo said. “That is our legacy and reminder that this great city should be for everyone, not just the wealthy. With the right leadership, we will restore affordability, and help ensure that New York remains a place where all have the opportunity to succeed and thrive.”

The cost of nearly everything has risen significantly since 2019 – the year before the COVID pandemic. The city’s cost of living has also risen faster than the growth in incomes.

Housing costs have surged, with rental costs skyrocketing more than 50 percent in some neighborhoods. Child care prices have risen 40 to 50 percent, straining hard-working families. Health care premiums and deductibles are outpacing wage growth. Transportation costs have increased by 25 percent since 2019, and grocery and restaurant prices have risen by 20 to 50 percent in five years.

Perhaps more than any other factor, this crisis of affordability is the cause of New York City’s net loss of population over the last five years, with a total of roughly half a million New Yorkers leaving the city – only partially offset by in-migration.

To address each of these costly expenses, Governor Cuomo’s vision for an affordable New York City centers on five key policy proposals.

Targeted Tax Relief

Currently, New York City’s expenditures have increased by 62 percent since 2013. Since 2019, the City’s total tax revenue has risen more than 25 percent, with the assumption that economic growth will outpace inflation, though that has yet to be seen. The result is higher inflation that impacts New Yorkers and opaque budgeting practices from the city government.

In order to provide targeted tax relief to New Yorkers, Governor Cuomo’s Affordability Plan calls for passage of the following measures:

  • Eliminate the New York City Income Tax on tips.
  • Extend the 2 percent cap on property tax increases on 1-3 family homes to save homeowners hundreds and eventually thousands per year over time.
  • Increasing the threshold of the Mansion Tax to $2.5 million, with ratable adjustments in the graduated tax rates on the sale of homes up to $5 million.
  • Eliminate New York City income tax for taxpayers with dependents whose incomes are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). This proposal would gradually phase out tax filers whose incomes are within $5,000 of the 200 percent FPL threshold. The federal poverty level (FPL) is a sliding scale based on household size:
    • 200 percent of FPL for a family of two: $42,300 → Annual NYC income tax savings: $345
    • 200 percent of FPL for a family of three: $53,300 → Annual NYC income tax savings: $552
    • 200 percent of FPL for a family of four: $64,300 → Annual NYC income tax savings: $758

Comprehensive Housing Strategy

Housing costs are the largest expense for most New Yorkers, and both rents and home prices have increased sharply in recent years. The median home price in New York is eight to 10 times the median income– well above the ration seen in other cities across the country, and approximately 30 percent of housing units are rent regulated, limiting supply proportionate to demand. Improving housing affordability in New York City requires a comprehensive approach that both increases the supply of housing – especially affordable and workforce housing – and enforcement of tenant protections against excessive rent increases and eviction.

The Governor’s plan would:

  • Increase the construction of affordable and workforce housing supply.
  • Collaborate with the state and developers to increase the number of units built under state tax abatement programs, including “485-x” (the successor program to 421-a) and the new 467-m for office to residential conversions. Additionally, the city will explore expanding transfer rules for the development of air rights while ensuring the growth remains conscious of the physical character of our communities.
  • Allow for new construction of affordable housing on NYCHA land and empower NYCHA to explore creative solutions like land swaps and transfers of assistance.
  • Address neglected middle class housing by working with the affordable housing in development communities, as well as our partners in State government, to identify ways to support the development of workforce housing at up to 120 percent to 130 percent of the area median income.
  • Strengthen tenant protections to prevent eviction and help ensure that renters have representation in housing court. This plan will reverse the declines in legal protections seen under the current administration and streamline housing court procedures to ensure faster, fairer resolutions.
  • Reform the CityFHEPS voucher program that makes housing affordable for low-income families by financially stabilizing the program while addressing homelessness in New York City
  • Bolster tenant protections and enforcement to ensure that landlords are held accountable for unlawful practices, including refusal to accept vouchers and other discriminatory actions

Affordable Transportation

The cost of transportation affects all New Yorkers, including those who rely on public transit. Many cities in the U.S. and around the world have been implementing initiatives designed to increase the affordability of their public transit systems. Affordability initiatives need to be weighed against lost revenue to the MTA, so a broader discussion of these affordability options should be considered in the context of other decisions about the MTA that affect New York City. That said, there are at least two transportation affordability initiatives that should be part of an affordability agenda.

Under Governor Cuomo’s plan, his administration would:

  • Expand enrollment in Fair Fares NYC, offering half-price transit for low-income residents.
  • Exploring permanent free bus routes pending a successful pilot program.  

Expand Childcare and Make Pre-K and 3-K Truly Universal

Since 2017, the city’s goal has been to expand the universal pre-k success story to include three-year-olds, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to enroll in a publicly funded 3-K program. The reality, however, is that only about 43,000 three-year-olds – out of a potential pool of nearly 60,000 children – are currently enrolled in 3-K. Achieving truly universal 3-K would save families at least $10,000–$20,000 per year in childcare costs –a game-changer for affordability. It would also better prepare children for school and deliver long-term educational benefits, particularly for children from low-income families.

Additionally, New York City can and should expand access to affordable childcare for working parents and strengthen its existing child care infrastructure.

The Governor’s plan would:

  • Ensure sufficient funding for 3-K expansion: The preliminary FY26 budget cut funding for 3-K by $112 million. This funding must be restored in the enacted Budget.
  • Make a strategic investment to add 3-K seats where demand is highest.
  • Improve funding efficiency. According to a statement by New York City’s Director of Finance in November 2023, New York City was paying providers for 37,000 unfulfilled 3-K seats. The funding formula must be better aligned with actual enrollment.
  • Strengthen outreach efforts in neighborhoods where seats remain unfilled for 3-K and for childcare.
  • Broaden access to parents who are eligible for childcare subsidies by removing the wage floor, increasing the income ceiling, and allowing flexibility by separating authorized care hours from work hours.
  • Encourage employer-sponsored childcare as a criterion in awarding economic development grants.
  • Incentivize the development of more childcare centers in childcare deserts.
  • Grow the childcare workforce pipeline, including by requiring the Department of Youth & Community Development to create a Childcare Youth Employment Program and/or expand Summer Youth Employment options into the childcare sector.
  • Revamp the City’s $25 million tax credit program to better support property owners who retrofit spaces into childcare centers.
  • Increase enrollment through automatic enrollment or extended eligibility.

Healthcare Affordability & Access  

In New York City, more than 60 percent of residents receive free or heavily subsidized government-provided health care coverage from Medicaid and other qualified health plans supported by tax credits from the Affordable Care Act or Medicare. Other residents are covered by employer-sponsored plans or in the individual insurance market, and the costs associated through deductibles and copays have grown at a high rate. Because of this, there is an affordability and accessibility crisis in New York City as it pertains to healthcare.

The Governor’s plan would:

  • Ensure access to primary and specialty care.
  • Expand on-site healthcare access in these locations will remove barriers to care and improve health outcomes.
  • Strengthen NYC’s public hospital system by leveraging H+H’s strengths and its economies of scale.
  • Enhance price transparency to reduce healthcare costs for residents, and establish an NYC Ombudsman to protect against unfair insurance denials.  
  • Use the new NYC Office of Healthcare Accountability to address issues of affordability.
  • Promote price transparency for “shoppable” healthcare services.
  • Protect New Yorkers from health insurance plan denials.
  • Scale up efforts to make healthy food more accessible and affordable.

Find more details on Governor Cuomo’s Affordability Plan here.

The Record

Governor Cuomo’s track record of instrumenting policies that address affordability issues dates back to 2011 when New York was grappling with harsh economic realities from the 2008 financial crisis. From the moment he took office as Governor in 2011, he implemented economic measures that would address each of the challenges that were burdening New Yorkers.

Housing Initiatives

Governor Cuomo established the Tenant Protection Unit (TPU) in 2012 to safeguard tenant rights and ensure rent regulation compliance. He reformed the 421-a tax exemption program, creating "Affordable New York," reserving 25 to 30 percent of units as affordable housing, extending tax exemptions to 35 years, and introducing wage requirements for construction workers. He also launched a five-year, $20 billion plan in 2016 to combat homelessness and increase affordable housing, creating 110,000 affordable units and 6,000 supportive housing units.

Education Advancements

Governor Cuomo launched a $25 million pilot program in 2015 to extend pre-kindergarten to three-year-olds in high-need communities, adding over 5,000 pre-K seats across 250 districts.

Healthcare Achievements

Governor Cuomo established the Essential Plan in 2014, providing comprehensive health coverage to 1.5 million working-class New Yorkers with no premiums and minimal out-of-pocket costs, contributing to a drop in the state’s uninsured rate below 5 percent by 2021.

Fiscal Responsibility

Upon inheriting a massive budget deficit, Governor Cuomo enforced fiscal discipline from 2011 to 2021 with a 2 percent cap on State Operating Funds growth, controlling government spending without compromising essential services.

Middle-Class Relief

Among Governor Cuomo’s signature achievements include reducing the personal income tax rates for middle-income earners, achieving the lowest tax rates in over 70 years, saving families between $40,000 and $300,000. The Governor also spearheaded a historic minimum wage increase in 2016, reaching $15 per hour by 2018 in New York City, benefitting over 2.3 million workers.

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