Posted on September 21, 2016 by Steve Coe, Marc Greenberg and Giselle Routhier in New York Slant New York Slant, By Steve Coe, Marc Greenberg and Giselle Routhier The prolonged release of the $2 billion Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed in his State of the State address to build supportive and affordable housing finally has an end in sight. Cuomo’s announcement last week that he has signed a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) to release all of the funds appropriated in the fiscal year 2017 state budget was a major step forward, but we are far from finished. The MOU, by definition, cannot be a one-way proposal – Gov. Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan have to all agree to release the earmarked funds. Until that happens, the money is stuck and we cannot celebrate this announcement as a victory – not with 80,000 homeless people living throughout our state.
