The Times Union reports that on Oct. 14 the Hudson Planning Board approved a housing project that includes 54 apartments for either affordable or middle income citizens. The rents there will be set according to percentages of the county's median income. Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson won his first campaign in 2019 with the need for affordable housing as his main campaign plank. "I think that, right now, we're in a tough situation, housing-wise, in the city of Hudson, where the more popular Hudson gets, the more the cost of living increases." Johnson said. "(The project) gives us a chance – a little bit of breathing room – to get the many families who are living two-to-three families to a small apartment out of those situations and into their own apartment." The entire Hudson Valley is crushed with a housing crisis, with fewer units on the market thanks to damage from climate change-fueled storms, or transferred to short-term rentals, as the lack of enough hotel rooms fuels that trend. With supply lacking, and demand increasing due to the pandemic, prices have skyrocketed to rent apartments or buy homes locally. This project, developed by the Galvan Foundation, Hudson's largest landlord, received $6.6 million in property taxes tax breaks over 30 years approved by the city's Industrial Development Agency, plus breaks on sales and mortgage recording taxes. NOTE: Johnson is a volunteer programmer at WGXC. Read more about this story in the Times Union.