New York Senator proposes PASHNY Act to expand affordable housing

New York State Senator Cordell Cleare and Brooklyn Assemblymember Emily Gallagher have introduced the Permanently Affordable Social Housing for New Yorkers Act (PASHNY). The proposed legislation aims to address rising housing costs and the displacement of residents in communities like Harlem by creating a public builder to develop and own permanently affordable homes.

Under the plan, rents would be set based on individual earnings rather than the Area Median Income (AMI), a regional metric that critics argue is inflated by wealthy suburbs. Current data shows that while the 80 percent AMI threshold for a family of three has increased by 59 percent since 2019, many Black and Latino households in New York earn significantly less than the regional average, making existing affordable housing programs ineffective for them.