Housing Stakeholders Support J-51 at the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing

This blog post summarizes testimony given at the Joint Legislative Budget Committee hearing on Housing as part of the FY 2026-2027 Executive Budget Proposal, held on February 25, 2026, but only as it relates to the proposed renewal and reform of the J-51 program.

Looking just at J-51, the testimony showed broad support for extending the program and updating it to better reflect current conditions. No witness in the testimony reviewed here appeared to oppose J-51 outright. Instead, the discussion generally focused on whether the program should be renewed, how it should be modernized, and what changes would make it more workable.

Support for J-51 came from a wide range of agencies and organizations, including New York State Homes and Community Renewal, Community Preservation Corporation, the New York Housing Conference, the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter, the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, LISC NY, and REBNY. New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin also supported the program, although with a caveat about local control.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal, through Commissioner and CEO RuthAnne Visnauskas, supported reauthorizing J-51 for 10 years. HCR described J-51 as a tool that helps owners of rent-stabilized buildings and co-ops make capital improvements without increasing costs for residents. HCR also highlighted the proposal’s expansion of eligible homeownership buildings, a simpler application process, and an increased benefit.

Community Preservation Corporation, through Erin Burns-Maine, strongly supported the proposed J-51 changes. CPC described J-51 as an important preservation tool for deeply affordable and rent-stabilized buildings because it can help make capital work financially feasible. CPC also noted that the program has become less effective when certified reasonable cost schedules fall behind actual construction costs. CPC supported changes that would increase the abatement from 70% to 100%, extend the authorization through 2036, and require periodic updates to the cost schedule. CPC also suggested that J-51 works best as part of a broader housing preservation strategy that also addresses rising insurance costs, utilities, and property taxes.

The American Institute of Architects New York Chapter, through Bria Donohue, also supported the Governor’s J-51 reforms. AIANY framed J-51 as important to housing preservation, emphasizing that existing buildings should be preserved and improved where possible. AIANY also connected J-51 to renovations, repairs, adaptive reuse, and broader low-carbon building goals.

The New York Housing Conference, through Executive Director Rachel Fee, supported reform and renewal of J-51, including modernization of the program and a 10-year authorization period. NYHC’s comments on J-51 were brief, but clearly supportive.

The Real Estate Board of New York, through Basha Gerhards, strongly supported the proposed J-51 reforms and offered the most detailed technical feedback. REBNY described J-51 as an important tool for capital repairs in rent-stabilized housing, but argued that several refinements would improve the program. Among other things, REBNY suggested indexing the certified reasonable cost schedule to inflation rather than only reviewing it periodically, including soft costs such as design, permitting, and consulting, limiting disqualifying violations to egregious and hazardous conditions, avoiding disqualification where the J-51-funded work itself would cure the issue, making penalties more predictable, removing tenant-notice requirements for co-ops and condos, and indexing the co-op and condo assessed value cap to inflation over the life of the program.

Speaker Julie Menin, on behalf of the New York City Council, also supported expanding J-51 as a housing preservation and greenhouse-gas-reduction tool. Her testimony noted that the proposal would increase the abatement from 70% to 100% of certified reasonable costs and help preserve co-ops, condos, homes, Mitchell-Lamas, and affordable housing. At the same time, she raised a caveat that, because of the cost of the program, the City should have local control to amend or limit the tax break over time.

The New York State Association for Affordable Housing, through Carlina Rivera, supported reforms to J-51 to better support rehabilitation and energy-efficiency upgrades. NYSAFAH framed J-51 modernization as necessary to help projects remain feasible in today’s construction and financing environment while preserving long-term affordability.

LISC NY, through Valerie White, also supported modernization of J-51. LISC described a renewed J-51 as a promising tool to support capital repairs in rent-stabilized housing, help aging buildings receive needed upgrades, benefit tenants, and strengthen the financial health of affordable housing properties. LISC also emphasized the need for the program to reflect current construction costs and current building needs.

Taken together, the testimony showed a fairly broad consensus in favor of renewing and updating J-51. The main differences were not over whether the program should continue, but over how it should be structured. Some witnesses emphasized J-51’s role in preserving rent-stabilized and affordable housing. Others focused on better aligning the program with actual rehabilitation costs, energy-efficiency improvements, and current economic realities. REBNY focused most heavily on technical revisions, while Speaker Menin supported the program but raised a fiscal and governance concern about local control.

Overall, the testimony suggests that J-51 continues to be viewed by many housing stakeholders as an important preservation tool, but one that needs updating if it is to remain workable in the current environment.