Mayor Adams is joining forces with the City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Queens) and several progressive groups to demand state lawmakers pass a bill that would allow hotels to convert their premises to affordable housing.
The legislation — which has been floated in both the state Senate and Assembly — would permit hotels to be converted to affordable housing while retaining the already existing certificates of occupancy and would give the city the ability to approve such conversions.
It would also allow for the conversion of smaller hotel units and units that share kitchen space.
The Assembly and Senate bills would build on an already existing law known as the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act, or HONDA, which includes a $200 million appropriation to fund such conversions.
The Senate passed its bill that would supplement HONDA on Tuesday, by a 41-20 vote.
Mayor Adams is for the legislative package, but according to one source involved in negotiations, it remains stalled because of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx). Another source with knowledge of the wrangling in Albany confirmed that the hold up is in the Assembly, but said it is unclear why there’s a delay.
A spokesman for Heastie declined to comment.
In a written statement to the Daily News, Adams said it is time to “get this done.”
“We are facing a homelessness crisis and an affordable housing crisis, but, with the help of our partners in Albany, we can work to tackle them both with one tool,” Adams said. “By repurposing underused hotels, we can create supportive housing faster and cheaper. We can make affordable, permanent housing available to families, seniors and any New Yorker in need, including our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Let’s get this done.”
The push to pass the legislation before the legislative session in Albany ends on June 2 is also supported by Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and the Hotel Trades Council, as well as several progressive groups, including VOCAL-NY, Housing Works and Housing Justice 4 All.
In a letter sent to Gov. Hochul, Heastie and Senate Majority Andrea Stewart Cousins (D-Yonkers), those groups singled out Heastie specifically.
“We ask the Assembly to join with the State Senate to pass [the bill] before the end of the 2022 legislative session,” they and several other groups wrote. “With passage of the bill, hotels that at present can be converted as-of-right to homeless shelters can instead be converted to permanent affordable housing, further reducing the need for additional shelters. We don’t have time to waste: the window on this once-in-a-generation opportunity to create new affordable housing is rapidly closing.”
