HCR commissioner touts progress on 5-year plan and urges SEQRA changes to speed housing production

Ruth Ann Vysnauskas, commissioner and CEO of New York State Homes and Community Renewal, told a joint Assembly and Senate budget hearing that HCR has financed or preserved roughly 78,000 affordable homes under the governor’s five‑year, $25 billion housing plan and urged lawmakers to back proposals designed to speed new construction.

“We have implemented the $25,000,000,000 housing plan with urgency and with focus, and as we near the final year of the plan, HCR will have financed the creation and preservation of more than 78,000 affordable homes,” Vysnauskas said in opening testimony. She highlighted several new programs in the executive budget, including a $250 million capital allocation to accelerate development, a $100 million investment for factory‑built starter homes under the Move in New York initiative, and a newly created Housing Acceleration Fund to provide low‑cost construction financing.

Vysnauskas described the governor’s “Let Them Build” package — a set of proposed changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) — as intended to remove duplicative statewide review for a subset of housing projects while preserving local zoning, water and wetlands permits and key environmental standards. “This housing will still be required to comply with the crucial state regulatory and permit requirements governing water use, air quality, environmental justice, and protection of natural resources,” she said.

Lawmakers pressed Vysnauskas for specifics. Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal asked how many of the 78,000 units were new construction versus preservation; the commissioner said she would provide a precise split but estimated HCR’s activity is demand driven and balances both objectives. Senator Brian Kavanaugh and others pressed about project timelines and whether the administration can spend new capital quickly; Vysnauskas said HCR has signed agreements with CDFI and lender partners for the Acceleration Fund and expects loan closings and construction starts in short order once paperwork is final.

The commissioner acknowledged concerns about trimming environmental review but framed the changes as a tool to avoid years of litigation and delay that add substantial costs to projects. She cited, according to testimony, analysis that environmental review-related delay can add tens of thousands of dollars per unit — a cost she said the state must address to expand housing supply.

Opponents and some environmental advocates urged caution. Representatives from Riverkeeper and other environmental groups warned the proposed SEQRA exemptions are too broad and could allow development on sensitive or flood‑prone sites without adequate statewide review. Riverkeeper’s testimony noted the need for narrower definitions of “previously disturbed” land and urged maintaining protections for floodplains and habitats.

The hearing produced no vote; the session was a formal testimony and Q&A step in the budget review. Lawmakers asked staff to follow up with HCR for data splits, program timelines and additional detail on implementation plans.