Heastie pledges support for affordable housing on Hudson visit

Assemblywoman Didi Barrett announced at a press conference at 240 Columbia St. that she has secured $3 million for affordable housing through the Capital Projects Grant program, with $1.5 million allocated to Habitat for Humanity, and the remaining $1.5 million going to the Dutchess County-based Hudson River Housing.

Joining Heastie and Barrett, D-106, were Mayor Kamal Johnson, Common Council President Thomas DePietro, Hudson Housing Director Michelle Tullo, Canaan Town Supervisor Brenda Adams, members of Habitat for Humanity and members of Hudson River Housing.

In his brief remarks, Heastie, D-83, said affordable housing is a problem nationwide, no matter the size and population of the area.

“Oftentimes we think affordable housing is a problem in big cities like New York City,” Heastie said. “This housing crisis isn’t just in New York. Recently, I was at a speakers conference in Utah. The Speaker there said the two biggest problems in Utah are affordable housing and climate. Across the nation, the issue is about people having a place to call home. We are in a crisis, and today is a small piece of what really needs to be done.”

Barrett credited Heastie’s support with helping to obtain the grant.

“We all know housing is a statewide crisis, and we tried in the last budget to do something about it, and it became clear to me that the state needs to build more affordable housing,” Barrett said. “This (grant) supports the construction of affordable housing for both home ownership in Columbia and Dutchess counties. With the support of Speaker Heastie, we have secured $3 million in funding to build more affordable housing in the community.”

Al Bellenchia, director and CEO of Habitat for Humanity, described the income qualifications for the potential homes.

“We’re working between 50% and 75% of the area median income,” he said. “That is between $40,000 and $55,000 for total household income. We’re talking to a number of towns and municipalities. We don’t have anything to announce yet, but we’re getting close.”

Bellenchia said the need for housing is great, and it is important for every community to have access to affordable and decent housing.

“We are determined to make progress and provide affordable housing in rural communities,” Bellenchia said. “It’s a seminal issue that needs to be addressed. This $1.5 million will allow us to accelerate our plans. It takes many hands to build a home, and it also takes a few dollars, so we are greatly appreciative of this. It’s critical that we take action to provide affordable housing options for our average-wage and lower-income residents.”

Christa Hines, president and CEO of Hudson River Housing, said, “To say we are honored and grateful is a huge understatement,” Hines said. “I don’t think I’ll ever express the magnitude of what these funds mean to Hudson River Housing. We’ve been doing a lot of work for a lot of years to address the severe housing shortage and crisis that we’re in. I’m really proud of our partnership with New York State through COVID and beyond for a lot of needed rent relief. They helped us when people needed the assistance the most. This award is such a significant milestone for Hudson River Housing and will propel us so much farther along our path to create housing opportunities that our communities need and deserve.”

Johnson said his administration’s primary focus has been getting more affordable housing in Hudson.

“Affordable housing has been the No. 1 priority of my administration,” he said. “Our people in Hudson are the soul of the city, and we want to keep people here. For the last two years we haven’t been able to field a high school football team because we don’t have enough students. When I think of affordable housing, there are a lot of misconceptions. These are people who work in our schools and grocery stores. They take care of us in the hospital. As we work on a local level to put over 100 new affordable housing units in the city in the last three years, it’s amazing to hear that there’s a state commitment as well, and that is what this should be all about: Local and state officials working together for the community.”