Madison County Offers Housing Assistance – Oneida Dispatch

Dan Kolinski, Empire State Development’s regional director for central New York, speaks at a recent meeting in Madison County. (Roger Seibert – MediaNews Group)

MADISON COUNTY, N.Y. — Dan Kolinski, Empire State Regional Development Director for Central New York, recently addressed the Madison County Board of Supervisors about funding available to promote affordable housing in municipalities.

The ESD is the state’s primary economic development agency, and Kolinski oversees a five-county region that includes Madison, Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga and Cortland counties.

“We really want to be a resource for all of you and the projects that you’re working on in your communities,” Kolinski said. “If we don’t have direct access to the grants that you can apply for, we usually know the agency that does, or we can connect you with the right people.”

Kolinski and his assistant, Melissa Davis, were available and willing to help with local housing projects.

“I know many of you have projects going on and are looking for state funding. We want to support you in those efforts,” he said. “Please feel free to reach out to us at any time. We want to be a resource and we want to be a friend to Madison County.”

The Pro-Housing Communities program certifies municipalities that are taking local action to address New York State’s housing shortage. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the program in Executive Order 30 in July 2023. The program opened in September 2023.

Applications are currently being processed and will be reviewed by UNHCR within 90 days.

In the state budget, Hochul strengthened the program by requiring housing certification as a prerequisite for receiving certain discretionary state subsidies.

“I think we’re all aware of the need for housing across the state,” Kolinski said. “Central New York alone needs to build 2,500 homes a year for the next 10 years just to meet the demand that we expect to see in terms of the population growth in Micron and other employment centers.”

Kolinski said supporting a diverse real estate market both improves local quality of life and increases local tax revenue. Benefits include younger and more mixed populations, more affordable rents and opportunities for homeownership while reducing commute times and improving quality of life.

He also said local tax revenues are stabilized or improved through housing growth. Encouraging construction brings stable short- and long-term jobs to the community. This incentivizes residents to spend more locally to support small businesses and the tax base, without impacting the school population.

Kolinski said the time had come to seek state help.

“First, there are a number of funding streams that will be available to communities that are considered housing-friendly this year,” he said. “Initiatives like the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, Market New York, ESD grants, and a new $40 million Community Housing Grant that is being used for infrastructure and demolition work. That will help us work on sites to prepare them and prepare for future work.”

New York Forward is one of those programs. In May, the Village of Canastota was one of two communities in the Central New York region selected for the second phase of the NY Forward program. Canastota was selected for a $4.5 million grant to carry out transformative and/or catalytic projects in and near the downtown area.

“Everybody needs to build housing,” Kolinski said. “Housing is something that everyone cares about. We have a housing affordability crisis right now across the region.”

Kolinski pointed to a June article on syracuse.com that claimed Syracuse rents are rising at the highest rate of any municipality in the country. “That’s shocking, when you consider that we’re talking about places like Denver and Washington, D.C. and others that have historically been prime markets,” he said.

“But rents are rising at an unaffordable rate and, as we know, housing prices are skyrocketing. There needs to be more housing and all types of housing,” he continued. “There is a need for all types of housing and the benefit of this program is that you get to show that you are committed to housing.”

Nadia Gonzalez, Forbes Advisor’s digital public relations manager for financial services, said she believes Syracuse actually offers reasonable housing for professional workers.

“Syracuse is an affordable place for young professionals to rent. The area ranks second in median rent costs as a percentage of income,” she said.

Forbes Advisor conducted a recent survey analyzing data from 99 major U.S. cities, covering four categories: employment and compensation, housing affordability, lifestyle and cost of living.