The Black Homeownership Project State Legislative Priorities 2023

The Black Homeownership Project is releasing its 2023 State Legislative Agenda as part of its upcoming Black Housing Agenda, a five-point policy plan for Black New Yorkers that prioritizes:

1. Ending predatory and speculative systems and practices that encourage gentrification and displacement,
2. Stabilizing Black homeowners so they can remain in their homes,
3. Increasing the supply of affordable and non-market-based social and public housing,
4. Promoting and encouraging healthy and resilient housing, and
5. Growing Black community wealth networks

The Black Housing Agenda is a culmination of four years of research undertaken by the Black Homeownership Project team on the challenges and needs facing Black homeowners in New York City, and our work developing and launching pilot program interventions to materially meet the immediate needs of Black homeowners. The Black Housing Agenda will help the Black Homeownership Project Team to advocate for systematic and structural change at the city, state, and federal levels to stability and investment in Black homeownership programs, as well as work to undo racist housing policies.

The Black Homeownership Project’s Black Housing Agenda is deeply informed by the work and knowledge of coalitions and organizations that have led the advocacy on these issues, including the Homeowner Protection Program Network Partners, the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development, New Economy Project, NYC Community Land Initiative, LISC-NYC, Pratt Center for Community Development, Citizens Housing and Planning Council, the BASE campaign, and the Coalition for Affordable Homes.

For more information, please visit https://blackhomeownersny.org.

The Protect Our Homes and Communities, Stop Predatory Housing Speculation Act of 2023

S1569 (Sponsor: Julia Salazar) A1023 (Sponsor: Catalina Cruz)

• This bill seeks to create more opportunity and equity in the housing market for first-time homebuyers by creating a disincentive for predatory real estate speculators to engage in the destabilizing conduct of home flipping.
• The bill imposes a tax on the transfer of certain residential properties sold within two years of purchase.
• Future advocacy in this area will seek to exempt certain purchases of residential properties from mortgage recording taxes as well as the imposition of a tax on the transfer of certain properties in NYC which are sold for one million dollars or more.

Protecting Victims of Deed Theft

S6577 (Sponsor: Brian Kavanagh) A6656 (Sponsor: Zellnor Myrie)

• This bill seeks to increase protections against deed theft by providing homeowners and prosecutors with the tools to restore title to the rightful homeowners.
• The bill would extend certain consumer protections to homeowners in distress.
• The bill would prevent deed theft scammers from utilizing the courts and the law to their advantage in carrying out fraud.

Amend Criminal Procedure Law (Deed Theft)

S6569 (Sponsor: Zellnor Myrie)

• This bill seeks to provide homeowners victimized by deed theft with appropriate tools to fight evictions and recover their property.
• This bill strengthens the ability of law enforcement officials to investigate, prosecute, and take other actions against deed theft.
• Specifically, this bill would amend the Criminal Procedure Law to increase the statute of limitations from five years to eight years with respect to the commission of felony crimes related to deed theft or fraud.

New York Public Banking Act

S1754 (Sponsor: James Sanders Jr.) A3352 (Sponsor: Hunter)

• This bill seeks to authorize municipal and other local governments to form and control public banks through the ownership of capital stock or other ownership interests and to loan or grant public funds or lend public credit to such public banks for the public purposes of achieving costs savings, strengthening local economies, supporting community economic development, and addressing infrastructure and housing needs for localities.