Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that local villages and towns aren't building affordable housing, but many are addressing the housing crisis in other ways, The village of Philmont, for instance, has just been awarded $50,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assess housing needs. Unnamed officials in the story say, “The project will involve collecting and analyzing data which will help the village identify priorities and effective, litigation-proof policies to protect and provide high-quality, affordable and workforce housing. They will work with the analyst to address the most pressing needs of low-income residents and develop a concrete action plan for meeting those needs.” Village Trustee Debra Gitterman said, “The village of Philmont wants to develop slowly, without displacing community members.... We’re grateful to HUD for this opportunity to conduct a much-needed housing study, identify housing gaps and opportunities and develop a policy framework to guide future housing development to achieve that goal. Already, we’re getting reports of significant rent increases leading to potential displacement.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.