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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 421-a tax exemption | 3/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/421-a_tax_exemption | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T16:00:34.957581+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Expiration, debate, and renewal === In June 2015, the state government agreed to renew the 421-a tax exemption program, extending it for another four years. The state increased the affordability requirement from 20% to 25-30%. However, the state extended the program conditionally. Specifically, the state set a requirement that workers and developers come to an agreement on whether workers on 421-a construction projects would be paid union-level wages, something that developers stated would increase construction costs drastically. The city's Independent Budget Office estimated that the union-level wages requirement would increase the cost of Mayor Bill de Blasio's affordable housing plan by $2.8 billion. The extension of the program was void if such an agreement on union-level wages was not reached by January 15, 2016. Advocates of not renewing the program claimed that the program unfairly benefited real estate developers at the expense of the New York City taxpayer; the funds for the program essentially came from the New York City government. Because an agreement was not reached by the deadline, the 421-a program expired in New York on January 15, 2016. However, debate over how much the program helped to develop affordable housing in the city continued. Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, along with other advocacy groups, worried that the loss of the tax break would make affordable housing too expensive to build in the city, and that the city would have to pay more to build such units. From when Mayor de Blasio took office in January 2014 to the expiration of the program in January 2016, developers received financing for 13,929 affordable units, of which 5,006 utilized the 421-a exemption program. In response to this issue, Governor Cuomo brought both union leaders and real estate executives together to create a deal on paying union-level wages on 421-a projects. At the conclusion of negotiations, unions and real estate developers reached an agreement to pay workers $60/hr on covered projects in Manhattan and $45/hr on covered projects within a mile of the East River waterfront in Queens and Brooklyn. As such, the bill was submitted to the state legislature for approval. The program was officially revived with the passage of New York State's $153.1 billion budget in April 2017. In June 2019, Cuomo signed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) into law, protecting additional tenant rights across New York state. According to The New York Times, the HSTPA "mark[s] a turning point" for the millions of New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments "after a steady erosion of protections and the loss of tens of thousands of regulated apartments." While tenant groups cheered the bill's passage, landlord groups worried that some of its provisions would undermine their ability to build and maintain apartment buildings. Following the passage of the act, some housing advocates called for the repeal of the 421-a tax exemption.