Mayor vetoes housing study, calling it ‘ill-advised’

HUDSON — Mayor Kamal Johnson halted plans for a housing vacancy study of Hudson on Friday.

Johnson vetoed a resolution that would have authorized his administration to conduct a study to determine the city’s eligibility to opt into the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974.

“I am vetoing this resolution because it is highly unlikely that Hudson’s vacancy rate would qualify the city for participation in the Emergency Tenant Protection Act,” according to Johnson’s veto message.

Johnson cited a preliminary inventory of rent-regulated housing stock prepared for the Housing Task Force in 2018, which estimated 21% of Hudson’s residents are already living in “low-income, permanently affordable, rent regulated housing.”

Sixty-eight percent of the housing units in Hudson were occupied by renters, according to 2018 U.S. Census Bureau data. The Census Bureau also concluded that 21.3% of Hudson residents are living below the federal poverty line.

The Urban Action Agenda Community Profile defines families paying more than 30% of their gross income toward housing as “cost burdened,” and in Hudson, nearly 20% of renters use 50% or more of their income toward rent.

“There is a growing perception in the City of Hudson that rental housing is becoming less affordable, especially for lower income residents,” according to the resolution. “Preserving the affordability of rental units and assuring that a sustainable increase in rents that meets the needs of the entire city should be a goal of the City of Hudson.”

As of June 14, 2019, the geographical restrictions of the ETPA were removed, opening the door for municipalities to opt in, which would allow for establishment of a rental guidelines board to regulate rental rates in buildings with six or more units built before 1974.

If a city’s vacancy rate is under 5%, its rental market is considered stressed, and the city can declare a housing emergency.

Johnson said most buildings with six or more units built before 1974 or financed with federal or state subsidies are already rent-regulated or stabilized, such as Bliss Towers, Hudson Terraces Apartments, Providence Hall and Crosswinds at Hudson.

The study would exclude those, and Johnson estimated the remaining vacancy rate would be far higher than the 5% maximum required to participate in the ETPA program.

The Common Council passed the resolution at the Feb. 18 meeting, with 1st Ward Alderwoman Jane Trombley and 5th Ward Aldermen Dominic Merante and Eileen Halloran dissenting.

“This is not funding it, this is just asking the mayor to commission a survey,” Common Council President Thomas DePietro said at the meeting. “It would still have to come back to us or whatever agency to fund.”

Merante, who was a member of the mayor’s housing task force in 2017, asked the Council to appoint a housing coordinator to assist in moving the city forward with housing solutions.

Halloran said she thought the committee did not have enough information to move forward with the resolution.

“I felt like it was a rushed effort and I think we have to be very careful about how we spend money,” Halloran said. “There are other ways to get the information than paying a consultant to do a vacancy study for us. Some cities are big enough to need consultants for that, but we don’t.”

Trombley said Monday that it was a financial decision on her part, but she was not surprised with the statistics the mayor offered.

“I didn’t feel that it was a good use of the city’s resources,” Trombley said, noting that the funds could be put to better use somewhere else.

Second Ward Alderwoman Tiffany Garriga, who proposed the resolution, said she brought the process forward because she felt it was the right thing to do. She called for more action and less talking from her fellow council members.

“Elected officials from the Democratic party control all levels of government in this city, and say they are for affordable housing and housing justice,” Garriga said at the meeting. “If you are so, then show it.”

Johnson said he could not justify authorizing the expenditure of $15,000 not in the 2020 city budget to document what they already know.

“I believe there are other ways to address concerns over affordable housing in Hudson and I am willing to work with the Council on this issue but cannot support this ill-advised use of taxpayer money,” Johnson said.

Johnson and the Galvan Foundation last week announced an 80-unit mixed-income apartment building to be constructed at 100 Depot St.

In 2019, Kingston became the first New York community to pursue rent stabilization. The city set out to prove less than 5% of the specific rental types were vacant for the ETPA to apply. The cost of Kingston’s study was initially estimated at about $32,000, and the city did not qualify.

“We should be very careful about every taxpayer dollar that we spend, and I really mean that,” Halloran said. “I think we should take every expenditure seriously.”