Governor Spitzer Proposes Historic Investment in Affordable Housing

Press Release

GOVERNOR SPITZER PROPOSES HISTORIC INVESTMENT IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
$400 Million Housing Opportunity Fund Draws Praise from Advocates, Business Community

Governor Eliot Spitzer today visited the Rheingold Houses in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to highlight steps his administration is taking to increase affordable and supportive housing throughout New York. Housing advocates, developers, community and business leaders applauded the Governor's historic $400 million Housing Opportunity Fund, which was announced during the State of the State address last week. The proposal is part of a $1.5 billion infrastructure and economic development plan to enhance economic growth and opportunity across the state, and part of Governor Spitzer's plan to ensure New York is the best place to live, work, raise a family and run a business.

"Good homes are the key to making a community livable. For over 100 years, New York led the nation with a progressive, visionary housing policy that helped to ensure that people had housing they could afford," said Governor Spitzer. "In recent years, that vision has dimmed. In too many parts of our State, our children cannot afford to come back to the neighborhoods that they grew up in, and their parents cannot afford to stay in the homes where they raised their families. I will propose the biggest housing initiative in a generation, a $400 million Housing Opportunity Fund. This fund will build homes for the men and women who teach our kids and police our streets. This fund will also build supportive housing that enables persons with disabilities and others with special needs to live independently."

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