Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that on July 18 Gov. Kathy Hochul again said she wants to build more affordable housing despite the recent legislative session not moving forward on her proposals. Hochul wants to give $650 million to “pro-housing” municipalities. Hochul said, “We’re changing how we’re going to do business and we’re sending a very simple message that communities that do their part to build housing will get priorities for funding over those who will not.... How do you like that?” Hochul also ordered a statewide study of the housing issue. Hochul’s order says it is “onerous local government policies that unduly inhibit housing development generally or prohibit the approval of certain housing proposals and thereby increase development costs and restrict the housing supply.” Local governments with “pro-housing” policies would get a leg-up on state dollars for supplementing housing developments, although her order also says other communities will “not be deprioritized.” Housing expert Annemarie Gray, executive director of Open New York, said, “These actions are necessary, important, and yet insufficient to address the scale of our housing crisis.... Nonetheless, we are pleased to see the governor do what she can to make up some ground after Albany’s disastrous and inactive legislative session on housing.” Hochul's plan was to build 800,000 new housing units, but the legislature did not pass any such measure. “We announced this bold plan; the Legislature was not ready for it,” Hochul said. “But I still believe we need a comprehensive solution to meet the scale of the crisis.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.