A rose by any other name would smell as sweet—or rotten if it’s the 485-w program, proposed in the state’s 2022–2023 executive budget to replace the controversial 421-a tax abatement program.
Despite a new name and set of numbers, the proposed 485-w hasn’t shed the stench of its predecessor; it is an unjustifiably expensive subsidy for luxury real estate developers that would not provide enough truly affordable housing to justify its hefty price tag.
That’s why we have long advocated allowing 421-a to sunset in June, and we have rejected the inclusion of the “421-a lite” program from the one-house budgets (S260A/A1931A) in Albany. We can and should
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