“The next bill before me is Introductory Number 429, sponsored at my request by Council Members Provenzano, Comrie and Koppell. Intro. 429 extends the affordable housing component of the 421-a tax exemption program in the Manhattan Exclusion Area.
“The 421-a program provides a limited period of exemption from tax liability to owners who construct new multiple dwellings, from three- and four-family houses to high-rise apartment buildings. Since its inception in 1971, the 421-a program has spurred the production of more than 135,000 new units of housing throughout the City, many of them for lower-income families.
“I congratulate the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Council Member Provenzano, and all who helped pass this important piece of legislation, which will address one of the City’s critical needs – the need for more affordable housing.”