Kingston committee backs resolution urging state to create Social Housing Development Authority

The City of Kingston Community Development and Housing Committee voted in April to send a memorializing resolution to the full Common Council urging the New York State Legislature and the governor to pass A.6265/S.5674, a bill that would create a Social Housing Development Authority (SHDA) to build and preserve permanently affordable housing across the state.

Proponents said the authority would let the state directly finance, acquire and construct deeply affordable housing at scale while insulating units from market speculation. “The Social Housing Development Authority would be dedicated to building and preserving, permanently and truly affordable energy efficient union built housing across the state,” Andrew Heller, co‑chair of the Mid Hudson Valley BSA housing working group, told the committee.

Supporters described five core features the bill would require: long‑term permanent affordability, energy efficiency and decarbonization, democratic resident input at the building level, union labor on construction and maintenance, and a mixed‑income portfolio. Under the model presented, residents would not pay more than 25% of income for housing costs and income would be certified once at move‑in; future rent changes would be set by the local rent guidelines board where one exists, or reviewed by the SHDA board where local boards do not apply. The SHDA portfolio would include a mix of deeply affordable units, units for households earning up to 80% of area median income, and a market‑rate band intended to cross‑subsidize deeper affordability; presenters described a target that at least 25% of units be affordable to low- and no‑income households.

Advocates said the authority could issue bonds, acquire and rehabilitate distressed properties, and use economies of scale to reduce fees that typically go to private developers. “It can be an extremely helpful partner to local municipalities, by helping them to access low interest financing,” Heller said. The legislation as described would also allow the authority to exercise eminent domain for vacant properties, require prevailing wages and project labor agreements, and include provisions favoring U.S.‑made structural steel.

Committee members asked detailed questions about bid rules, tenant recertification and the authority’s interaction with local land‑use tools. One committee member raised concern that the resolution language emphasizing “union built housing” could preclude nonunion contractors from bidding; another asked how the policy of certifying income only at move‑in would affect turnover and unit availability over time. Heller said nonunion shops could bid in practice and that the bill aims to prioritize union labor while still producing large quantities of housing; he also said the model is intended to build enough units to avoid the kind of turnover concern raised by members.

Members also probed how the SHDA’s right of first refusal to acquire distressed properties would interact with Kingston’s land bank and recent city disposition policy changes. Presenters said the authority is not intended to “swoop in” and supplant active municipal programs but acknowledged that the detail could change in legislative drafting and said they would follow up with policy team clarifications.

The committee read the memorializing resolution into the record and moved it forward. The motion as read asked the Common Council to call on the state legislature to pass and the governor to sign the bill creating a Social Housing Development Authority (A.6265/S.5674). The committee voted in favor of forwarding the resolution to the full council; the transcript records members saying “Aye” and that the motion carried, but it does not record a roll‑call tally by name.

Supporters said the measure would be one tool among many — including local land banks and public‑private partnerships — to address Kingston’s housing affordability and climate goals. Presenters and committee members agreed to follow up on specific drafting questions, including the bill’s language on project labor agreements (the bill cites the meaning of that term in Labor Law §222) and rights of first refusal for municipalities.

The Common Council will receive the memorializing resolution for consideration at a future meeting; sponsors said they would provide committee members with cited legislative text and additional answers to the technical questions raised.