NEW ROCHELLE, NY (June 12, 2026) — Governor Hochul’s “Let Them Build” agenda promises to cut red tape and boost housing supply. But Anthony Hammel, a New Rochelle-based multifamily developer, says the real obstacle isn’t permitting — it’s economics.
Writing in Words in Edgewise, Hammel argues that in transit-ready communities like New Rochelle that have already done the planning work, streamlining approvals changes very little. What kills projects is feasibility: soaring construction costs, insurance premiums, property taxes, and commercial borrowing rates that have jumped from 3–4% to nearly 10%. On his own project, The Grand, rising interest rates drained the construction reserve six months early — at $150,000 a month.
His conclusion: New York doesn’t need more slogans. It needs public-private partnerships that make projects financially viable. Planning without capital produces plans, not homes.