Housing First! Hails Governor’s New Housing Opportunity Fund

NEW YORK, NY (01/09/2008)(readMedia)-- Governor Spitzer’s proposal for a new $400 million Housing Opportunity Fund in today’s State of the State message is “a quantum leap forward in updating the state’s affordable and supportive housing policies,” according to David Muchnick, the coordinator of Housing First!

“Investment on this scale demonstrates the Administration’s recognition of affordable housing as a core component of the state’s mainstream economic development, smart growth, and infrastructure programs,” Muchnick said.

“A new $400 million Fund represents a significant, meaningful and long-needed expansion in the resources the state commits to addressing its diverse affordable and supportive housing needs,” he added. During the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, Housing First!’s state platform called for $1.3 billion in new annual state investment in the creation and preservation of affordable and supportive housing.

Housing First! encourages the legislature to welcome the Governor’s initiative “as an opportunity for bipartisan partnership” that can improve the quality of family and community life in urban, suburban, and rural communities across the state.

Housing First! is a broad alliance of more than 300 diverse organizations who are united by their dedication to developing and sustaining affordable housing for all New Yorkers.

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