From NY Focus: "The Rent Is Too Damn High. Blame the Suburbs."

The Rent Is Too Damn High. Blame the Suburbs., Sam Mellins wrote for New York Focus 10/6/22:

New York City builds less housing per capita than almost any major city in the US, one reason it boasts the country’s highest rents. Like other cities, it relies on its suburbs to ease the strain on its housing market.

But when it comes to construction, the suburbs on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley are even less active than the city: They build new housing at some of the lowest rates of any suburban region in the country, trailing the city’s other suburbs in Connecticut and New Jersey as well as the suburbs of Washington, DC, San Francisco, and Boston.

What's the problem?

Virtually all of New York’s peers try to prevent local governments from blocking new housing. California and Oregon require towns and cities to plan housing around expected population growth. New Jersey’s Supreme Court has required each municipality to develop a plan to build affordable housing, which must be approved by state courts. Pennsylvania requires local governments to allow some amount of multi-unit housing. In 2019, Oregon banned all but the smallest towns from creating zones reserved for single-family housing.

So it's a state issue, and up to the legislature, as well as a governor willing to wield political power. NY Focus found tenant reps "lukewarm"--it's not their priority. But the political dynamiic has multiple factors.

The whole piece is worth reading--and the issue is worth following up. New York State can learn from... New Jersey.