ALBANY, NY (February 24, 2026) — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state has awarded $5 million in technical assistance grants to help certified Pro-Housing Communities increase housing supply, including a $250,000 award to the City of New Rochelle in Westchester County.
Communities applied to receive up to $250,000 to create master plans, conduct market studies and zoning analyses, streamline building permits and implement similar actions aimed at cultivating a pro-housing environment.
“The Pro-Housing Communities Program is a true partnership between the State and localities that tackles the housing shortage, makes it possible for people to live in the communities of their choice and serves as an effective vehicle for aligning housing and local economic development,” Hochul said. “That’s why we are making additional resources available to the 400-and-counting certified Pro-Housing Communities that will help them succeed in creating the housing New Yorkers want and need.”
Hochul signed Executive Order 30 in July 2023 creating the Pro-Housing Community Program, which recognizes and rewards municipalities actively working to unlock their housing potential and encourages others to follow suit. The program is administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Local governments taking action to support housing growth can apply to become certified and, once certified, have exclusive access to up to $750 million in discretionary state funding.
Since the launch of the program, those state funds support up to 20,000 more homes statewide. The FY25 and FY26 enacted budgets strengthened the program, which has grown to more than 400 certified communities. More than 550 communities across the state have submitted letters of intent to join.
New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said the program “is an innovative and effective housing initiative that continues to grow as more and more localities join the Pro-Housing movement. This funding will ensure local officials have the tools and support to effectively strategize how they can achieve housing growth.”
State Sen. Brian Kavanagh said the announcement “underscores our commitment to supporting communities across New York to do their part to address our housing shortage by giving them the tools and resources they need to succeed.”
“These technical assistance grants help reduce those burdens by providing access to expert support that can streamline development, strengthen local planning efforts, and remove barriers to building affordable homes,” Kavanagh said.
In the Mid-Hudson region, New Rochelle was joined by the Village of Ellenville, City of Mount Vernon, Town of Greenburgh, Town of Rochester, Village of Nyack, Town of Saugerties and Town of Kent as grant recipients.
Through the new funding, eligible cities, towns and villages will receive assistance to procure planning, engineering or other professional services to support housing growth activities. Examples of eligible activities include zoning analysis reports; streamlining and accelerating building permitting services; evaluation of publicly owned properties for development; request for proposals preparation; housing needs assessments; and impact studies on proposed housing projects.
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.