Scathing NYU Furman Report: OZs in NYC Mainly Subsidize Luxury Housing

A new report from the highly respected NYU Furman Center shows that Opportunity Zone (OZ) tax breaks in New York City do little for low-income neighborhoods and mainly subsidize high-end, market-rate apartments. Furman’s analysis confirms what studies have already been showing for years and demolishes the absurd claim by the program’s supporters that Trump’s OZs are an anti-poverty program. 

Unfortunately, New York State and City could start losing up to $424 million annually in capital gains tax revenue as soon as next year unless the Assembly joins the Senate in passing S3340 (Gianaris) / A3246 (Dinowitz). 

Highlights from the Furman Center report:

• “Development in OZs is disproportionately located in non-low-income tracts that have a shared border with an eligible low-income area.” 
• “Nearly 60 percent of new apartments in OZs were market rate, compared to less than 50 percent in eligible but not designated areas.” 
• “Much of the new development in OZs occurred in contiguous non-low-income designated tracts, and any potential additive investment appears to have been limited to market rate housing.” 
• “The OZ program does not provide rental assistance to very low-income households, does not efficiently target benefits or units to very low-income neighborhoods or households, and prevents the benefit from being used to invest in emergency repairs or smaller rehabilitation scopes in existing buildings.” 

Reinvent Albany has repeatedly highlighted research from reputable researchers across the country that strongly suggests that NYS Opportunity Zones are a triple whammy of waste that subsidizes luxury housing in NYC and out of state, plus guns, oil, and crypto businesses across the country.

We again urge the Assembly to pass S3340 (Gianaris) / A3246 (Dinowitz) and save New York millions. 

Source: NYU Furman Center