New York lawmakers finally ratified the annual state budget last week, a deal that came more than a month after the deadline and free of any new policies aimed at addressing the housing crisis. While Gov. Kathy Hochul in January revealed an ambitious goal of creating 800,000 new housing units across the state in the next decade, none of the policies she put up — mandating municipalities to grow their housing stock and lifting the density cap for New York City residential structures among them — were approved. Nor was the controversial so-called Good Cause Eviction legislation. The result was a bitter disappointment for tenant and landlord advocates. In an interview with Bisnow on Thursday, after the budget’s passage Wednesday night, Senate Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development Chair Brian Kavanagh said there is still time for housing policies this session, and that he will continue to push forward with Good Cause legislation. He also defended the $229B budget that was passed, which included new rental assistance funding. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 
Bisnow: It doesn't seem like there are any real proposals for housing that went through [the budget]. You represent the lower part of Manhattan, how do you expect constituents to react to that outcome? Kavanagh: There were some very big policy proposals the governor had put on the table at…  Read the full story here. | 
