Ted Remsnyder reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the lack of affordable housing is looming over the entire Hudson Valley, and now the Greene County Legislature is considering spending $350,000 to in the Village of Tannersville to help employees of the region’s ski resorts find a place to live. The $350,000 in funding to assist with planning, development, and acquisition costs for a workforce housing project would come from the federal government as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. The money would go to a Hunter Foundation proposed development of 80 units of one-to-three-bedroom housing in Tannersville. Republican legislators Patty Handel, from Durham, and Matthew Luvera, from Catskill, delayed approval of the funding Nov. 8, asking for more information for a special meeting on Nov. 15. The entire region has an affordable housing crisis, with fewer buildings available to rent or buy, more units taken off the market as short-term rentals, few hotel rooms incentivizing more short-term rentals, and an influx of new residents. Under capitalism, the lack of supply, and increased demand causes prices to increase. “The Airbnbs have been progressively increasing up there, which is taking away the housing stock that’s available,” Greene County Legislature chair Pat Linger said. “But certainly since the pandemic started it’s at a crisis level.” Hunter legislator Larry Gardner agreed. “The situation is dire now,” Gardner said. “We have a terrible lack of supply of housing. This is not the norm, it’s a huge aberration. This isn’t some market force where housing is a little bit too high and too expensive on the mountaintop. This housing that we need for the business community and the community as a whole doesn’t exist.” Catskill Republican legislator Michael Bulich did not think the legislature should help solve the problem. “Our state income taxes are going to fund this, you’ve got federal taxes that are going to fund some of this, where does it end?” he said. “The labor situation will not go away just because we have some housing.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.