Albany, NY - Open New York and Regional Plan Association, members of Unlock New York’s Future–a coalition of dozens of advocacy organizations urging the New York State Legislature to modernize the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) as part of the FY 2026–27 budget–celebrated the provisional inclusion of SEQRA modernization in the final state budget with the following statements:
Annemarie Gray, Executive Director of Open New York, said:
“While we are waiting for final details, we applaud Governor Hochul and the State Legislature for delivering SEQRA modernization in the final budget. It was vital that the Governor, Legislature and local officials across the state—especially Mayor Zohran Mamdani—spoke in one voice about the importance of this issue - and we are glad they did.
“SEQRA has long delayed the housing we need to help solve our statewide affordability crisis. Modernizing these 50-year-old rules will enable progress on the projects New Yorkers urgently want and need. With these reforms now advancing, New York will take a major step to build at the scale our affordability crisis demands.
“Open New York and RPA were proud to have led the Unlock New York’s Future coalition alongside dozens of other advocacy groups. Open New York, its staff and members, look forward to building on this foundational progress and continuing to work with the Governor and the Legislature to tackle our housing shortage with every tool possible to build the homes NY needs.”
Tom Wright, President & CEO of Regional Plan Association, said:
“SEQRA reform is an important step toward addressing New York’s housing shortage. By advancing thoughtful reforms to the environmental review process in the State budget, Governor Hochul and legislative leaders recognize that we can both protect the environment and make it easier to build the homes near transit and infrastructure that New Yorkers urgently need. Once implemented, these changes will reduce unnecessary delays and advance a more sustainable and affordable future for New York. RPA and Open New York, alongside our coalition partners from Unlock New York’s Future, have shown that there is broad support for addressing our housing shortage and making New York more affordable for everyone.”
SEQRA, a law written over 50 years ago to protect our environment, had become a bottleneck that delayed and blocked the housing, clean-energy, transit, and infrastructure projects New Yorkers need. Its broad rules let a single opponent tie environmentally friendly projects up in court for years, driving up costs, rents, and utility bills while slowing climate action. Although intended to protect the environment, SEQRA had too often prevented energy-efficient housing near transit, rail electrification, and critical road, bridge, and school repairs, imposing outsized legal hurdles that benefited a few wealthy opponents at the expense of communities.
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