New York affordable housing programme gets tax break boost

New York

IT took nearly two years, but Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday reached an agreement with the New York State Legislature to put back together a long-running affordable housing programme, known as 421-a, that gives developers a city tax break in return for building lower-price rental units.

Just do not call it 421-a.

The newly named Affordable New York Housing Program will annually generate 2,500 units of housing affordable to poor, working- and middle-class New Yorkers, said Mr Cuomo. In a change to the nearly 50-year-old programme, developers will be required to pay a "fair wage" to construction workers to qualify for the city tax benefits.

At a time when housing costs have escalated well beyond the means of many New Yorkers, the programme was a subject of contention between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mr Cuomo. Both have made affordab…