NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8775
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to expand-
ing the veterans' preference to include veterans who did not serve
during a time of war for certain housing
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to expand the Mitchell-Lama admissions pref-
erence for veterans to include veterans and surviving spouses from all
eras of combat service, not just those who served during a time of war.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: The bill adds language to the rele-
vant section of the private housing
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
finance law to effectuate the purpose of the bill.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, only veterans and surviving spouses of veterans who served
during a time of war are eligible for the preference. This bill expands
that preference. Many veterans who served from the end of the Vietnam
War to the more current wars in the Middle East are not eligible for the
Mitchell-Lama housing preference. Veterans ought to have preference
regardless of whether they served in combat.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8775
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 2, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, STERN -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to expand-
ing the veterans' preference to include veterans who did not serve
during a time of war for certain housing
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 7 of section 31 of the private housing finance
2 law, as amended by chapter 621 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 7. Preference in admission to a project with an open waiting list, as
5 determined by the commissioner or the supervising agency, shall be given
6 by a mutual company or an urban rental company or by the New York state
7 housing finance agency when subleasing dwellings in projects of such
8 companies pursuant to section forty-four-a of this chapter, to persons
9 or surviving spouses of persons who are veterans as such term is defined
10 pursuant to section eighty-five of the civil service law, regardless of
11 if such veteran served during a time of war. The number of persons
12 given preference as a veteran or a surviving spouse of a veteran shall
13 be published adjacent to the application to be on such waiting list. For
14 projects with a closed list, as determined by the commissioner or the
15 supervising agency, such preference shall be given upon the opening of
16 the waiting list. Notwithstanding the foregoing, persons who are resid-
17 ing in a limited-profit housing project shall be given first priority
18 for an internal transfer in the project in which they are residing in
19 accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner or
20 the supervising agency.
21 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05770-01-5
