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A look at the housing crisis for people with disabilities in New York State and recommendations for reform.

Prepared by the New York State Independent
Living Council Housing Committee
March 2004

INTRODUCTION
The New York State Independent Living Council (NYSILC) is a consumer controlled, non-profit council that supports the federally funded Centers for Independent Living (CILs) in New York State by: 1) increasing funding and resources, 2) raising public awareness, 3) providing technical assistance and training, and 4) developing and pursuing a public policy agenda that results in systemic change. NYSILC has established several committees to accomplish these goals. For more information on NYSILC or to locate an Independent Living Center in your area, please visit www.nysilc.org.

The NYSILC Housing Committee, which is composed of people with disabilities and advocates, works to ensure the availability of accessible, affordable and integrated housing for New Yorkers with disabilities. Although our focus, and that of this policy paper, is on state level policies, we also try to influence federal and local policy makers. The goals of the NYSILC Housing Committee are: (1) to work with local, state and federal agencies to develop and maintain the state's accessible, affordable and integrated housing stock, and (2) to ensure compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act and all related regulations and laws.

New Yorkers with disabilities are currently facing a housing crisis. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are over 3 million people with disabilities who reside in New York StateŒ1. Despite the sheer number of New Yorkers with disabilities, there is not a comprehensive housing strategy to address the housing needs of New Yorkers with disabilities, particularly those people with disabilities who have extremely low, low and moderate incomes. Because of this, New Yorkers with disabilities are at risk of living in housing that does not meet their needs or at risk of homelessness and costly, unwanted, and unnecessary institutionalization. In addition, without sufficient accessible, affordable and integrated housing, New York State will not be able to comply with the 1999 US Supreme Court Olmstead decision. The State must develop a comprehensive housing plan now that will result in the increased availability of accessible, affordable and integrated housing.

GOALS
Advocates have identified three major goals of a comprehensive housing policy: (1) accessibility, (2) affordability, and (3) integration.

New York State must develop adequate accessible housing for individuals with disabilities.
The lack of accessible housing is a major barrier faced by individuals with disabilities. This barrier is compounded by the lack of funding for environmental modifications. Without accessible housing or funding for environmental modifications, individuals with disabilities are at risk of becoming homeless or being forced to live in a nursing home or other institution. In other instances, individuals with disabilities are forced to live with their aging parents, other family members or in apartments that do not meet their accessibility needs. Without adequate accessible housing, individuals with disabilities are isolated from their communities and their quality of life is diminished. Thus, a comprehensive housing policy must create sufficient accessible housing for people with disabilities. A major tenet of this policy must be to ensure accessibility in all housing that is developed with state or federal funds.

New York State must create truly affordable housing.
"Affordable housing" is not affordable for most individuals with disabilities in New York State. People with disabilities who rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits continue to be one of the poorest groups in the nation. On average SSI benefits in 2002 were equal to only 18.8% of the one-person median household income2. In addition to very low incomes, people with disabilities often have substantial expenses related to their disability, such as the cost of medical services and equipment, prescription drugs, and transportation. The current monthly SSI benefit for a person living alone in New York State is $651 ($7,812 per year). On average, people with disabilities in New York State who rely solely on SSI would have to spend 129% of their income to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment priced at HUD fair market rents3.

It is not only SSI recipients who are priced out of the housing market. Individuals who rely on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits often face similar challenges in locating affordable housing. The incomes of SSDI recipients vary but usually do not exceed $1000 per month. This income is severely diminished for those who must "spend down" for Medicaid. Thus, with net incomes of less than $650 per month, finding affordable housing is extremely challenging.

Affordable housing in New York State is often developed for households with annual incomes of $20,000-$40,000 or more. Most federal and state housing programs help pay for the one-time capital cost of developing housing, but do not fund ongoing operational costs. Without ongoing assistance, individuals with disabilities cannot access housing that is designated for people with low-incomes. The State must develop more housing for individuals with disabilities who have extremely low incomes.

Any new housing that is developed must be integrated.
Even when individuals with disabilities are able to locate affordable and accessible housing, it is often in buildings, often referred to as "crip ghettos", where all the other tenants are people with disabilities. To some, this housing arrangement is akin to living in a nursing home or other institution. Without true housing integration, individuals with disabilities are not able to become active members of their local communities. While policy makers may think that segregated housing is appealing to individuals with disabilities, in reality, such housing creates barriers and leads to the unnecessary isolation of individuals with disabilities.

The cumulative effect of the lack of accessible, affordable and integrated housing has created a housing crisis for New Yorkers with disabilities. In the following section, we provide a series of recommendations for developing a comprehensive housing plan that is designed to increase the stock of accessible, affordable and integrated housing.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Our recommendations for alleviating the housing crisis can be broken down into two areas: legislative action and administrative and regulatory reform. Although our recommendations focus primarily on the state level, we also provide recommendations for federal and local policy makers.

Legislative Action
Recommendation: Incorporate Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 into State Law.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandates that 5 percent of newly constructed, federally assisted homes be accessible to individuals with mobility impairments and that 2 percent be accessible to individuals with sensory impairments. This is known as the 5%/2% set-aside requirement of Section 504. In addition, Section 504 requires that these units be proactively marketed to eligible individuals with disabilities.

Despite the requirements of Section 504, advocates have identified a lack of enforcement of this law in New York State. Specifically, advocates have noted that some single and multi-family projects that have received federal monies through the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), local participating jurisdictions and the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) are not in compliance with Section 504. Even in circumstances where these Federally funded projects have been in architectural compliance, developers who have accepted federal funds have not marketed the accessible units to eligible individuals with disabilities.

In addition, some funding agencies have asserted that compliance with the State building code is sufficient to demonstrate compliance with Section 504. However, because these codes provide architectural standards, and do not contain the set aside and marketing requirements of Section 504, adherence to these codes does not equate to compliance with the regulatory provisions of Section 504.

Legislation to incorporate Section 504 into state law would greatly assist in the enforcement of these provisions in New York State. Such legislation should also specify that it is the responsibility of the funding agency, such as DHCR, participating jurisdictions or HFA, to ensure compliance. The incorporation of Section 504 and the clarification of enforcement responsibility in state law would assist individuals with disabilities in obtaining accessible housing by ensuring that accessible units are built and are occupied by those who need them.

Recommendation: Adopt legislation that requires an increase of the Section 504 set-aside requirements to 10% for people with mobility impairments and 4% for people with vision and hearing impairments for a ten-year period.
In light of the history of non-compliance with the accessibility mandates of Section 504, some individuals with disabilities who require accessible features in their housing have been unable to obtain housing they could use. In order to compensate for the housing that has been lost over the years, since Section 504 went into effect, the State should adopt legislation that requires an increase of the Section 504 set-aside requirements from 5% to 10% for people with mobility impairments and from 2% to 4% for people with vision and hearing impairments for a ten-year period.

Recommendation: Create a mandatory statewide accessible housing registry.
In 2003, the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) provided initial funding to establish a voluntary on-line Statewide Housing Registry for People with Disabilities. Although this is an important first step, we urge New York State to establish an accessible housing registry that is mandatory.

A mandatory statewide accessible housing registry would assist people with disabilities in locating affordable and market-rate accessible rental units. Such legislation must specify a dedicated funding source for this registry and a process by which organizations with expertise in housing and disability issues can apply to maintain and administer the housing registry.

Given the scarcity of accessible housing, it is extremely important that individuals with disabilities who are in need of housing know where and when accessible housing is available. This legislation would require that all owners/managers of accessible apartments report vacancies, and the rental amount of the vacant unit, to a central registry. Landlords would then be required to hold the apartment for at least 15 days in order to attempt to rent the apartment to a person with a disability. If during the 15-day period, a person with a disability does not rent the apartment, the apartment could then be rented to an individual who does not have a disability. This legislation should be modeled after the "Mass Access" housing registry in Massachusetts. More information on the Mass Access program can be found at www.massaccesshousingregistry.org.

Recommendation: Create a Housing Trust Fund to develop accessible housing, provide rental subsidies, and provide funding for home modifications.
The Housing Trust Fund would provide grants or loans to individuals with disabilities who have extremely low to moderate incomes in order to obtain accessible housing. Funds could be used for home modifications or rental subsidies. In addition, low-interest loans and grants would be made to housing developers in order to construct or rehabilitate existing housing in order to make it accessible and affordable to individuals with disabilities. The goal of the Housing Trust Fund is to increase the supply of accessible, affordable, and integrated housing throughout New York State.

Such a Trust Fund would require a dedicated funding stream. This could be accomplished by placing a $30 surcharge on fines for DWI, DUI, Non-Use of Seatbelts, and other moving violations to fund the Housing Trust Fund. A surcharge on such activities is logical as such illegal activities could lead to the acquisition of a disability. It is estimated that this additional surcharge could generate $20-$30 million annually.

Recommendation: Require that in newly constructed subdivisions or developments with 5 or more residential units, at least 10% of the units are affordable.
The NYS Assembly recently passed bill number A08060, which establishes the Long Island Workforce Housing Incentive Program. This bill requires that when a local government on Long Island "approves the construction of five or more residential units through a site plan, subdivision or mixed use development, that the developer provides 10% of the total units be affordable units." Similar legislation exists in the NYS Senate (S.04899A). The NYSILC Housing Committee recommends the development and enactment of similar legislation on a statewide basis.

Affordable housing continues to be a serious concern for people with disabilities. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) affordability guidelines, individuals should pay no more than 30% of their gross income towards housing costs (with 40% being the maximum). However, individuals with disabilities in New York State who rely solely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) would, on average, have to spend 129% of their monthly gross income to rent a modest one-bedroom apartment.

The lack of income and the scarcity of affordable, accessible housing are significant barriers for individuals with disabilities. The enactment of legislation to expand the stock of affordable housing would greatly assist persons with disabilities in overcoming these barriers.

Recommendation: Ban source of income/payment discrimination to increase the availability of housing for individuals with disabilities.
With affordable and accessible housing in such short supply, landlords must be prohibited from denying an applicant the opportunity to rent a unit based solely on the prospective tenant’s source of income or payment for an apartment. An example of source of income discrimination would be the denial of housing to an individual because he or she receives his or her income from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Public Assistance. An example of source of payment discrimination is the refusal of a landlord to accept a Section 8 subsidy as partial payment for rent. This is becoming even more of a concern because the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is increasingly relying on the use of Section 8 vouchers to make private housing available to low-income families.

Recommendation: Extend rent stabilization to protect all tenants in buildings where the landlord leaves either Mitchell-Lama or project-based Section 8.
Since the late 1950s the Mitchell-Lama program has been one of the most successful national housing programs for low and moderate-income families. The program benefits both tenants and landlords. In exchange for keeping rents affordable, state and local governments provide landlords with low-interest loans and tax breaks. Under current law, landlords can buy-out of the Mitchell-Lama program after 20 years of participation. Many landlords are now in the process of buying-out of the program. More than 55,000 apartments throughout the state are now in danger of being converted. Because of the severe shortage of affordable, accessible housing in New York, these buy-outs will cause enormous displacement of people with disabilities and disruptions of their communities and their natural and agency based support systems, unless the state takes action to preclude it.

Project-based Section 8 is the federal government's largest housing subsidy program. Almost 100,000 units of affordable housing have left federally assisted housing programs in the last three years, as owners opt out of Section 8 contracts. Contracts covering over 2 million apartments nation-wide expired in 2000, leaving tenants at risk of losing their homes. Over 133,000 of these units are in New York State. Despite steps by the federal government to address the loss of project-based Section 8 housing through new programs, tenants still face much uncertainty about the future of their homes.

Therefore, in order to reduce the threat posed by the Mitchell-Lama buy-outs and Project-based Section 8 opt-outs, the State Legislature should extend rent stabilization to protect all tenants in buildings where the landlord leaves either project-based Section 8 or Mitchell-Lama housing. Currently, only tenants in buildings that were built prior to 1974 have this protection.

Recommendation: Expand the Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program to include people with disabilities.
New York State’s SCRIE program has recognized the need to assist low-income senior citizens who are vulnerable because they cannot afford to pay rising rents or afford to relocate to alternate housing. Low-income people with disabilities face these same challenges and face additional expenses in order to accommodate their disability. A SCRIE-like program for people with disabilities would exempt low-income tenants with disabilities from rent increases if they live in rent-controlled, rent-stabilized or Mitchell-Lama Housing. Once eligible tenants enter the program, they would continue paying the same rent every year, and their landlords would receive a tax abatement to cover the lost rent. This is less costly than having a tenant with a disability leave home and become homeless or move to subsidized housing, public housing, or an institution at the expense of taxpayers.

Recommendation: Create a 1915(c) Medicaid Waiver and a companion rental subsidy program for individuals transitioning from nursing homes or other institutions.
The lack of affordable, accessible, and integrated housing, as well as inadequate community based services, has forced some individuals with disabilities into unwarranted institutional placement. The State should develop and apply for an aggregately capped, regionally administered 1915(c) Medicaid Waiver in order to divert or transition individuals of all ages with disabilities from unwanted nursing facility or other institutional placement. The Medicaid Waiver Program should be regionally administered by organizations with expertise in disability issues and community-based services and supports. Such a Medicaid Waiver should include a home modification component that would allow individuals who are approved for the Waiver Program to obtain funding to make their home accessible. In addition, individuals who are eligible for this Medicaid Waiver should also be eligible to apply for a rental subsidy, much like the rental subsidy program that is available to participants of the NYS Department of Heath’s Traumatic Brain Injury Medicaid Waiver or NYS OMRDD’s Individual Support Services program. The Medicaid Waiver Program and the Rental Subsidy Program would greatly assist individuals of all ages with disabilities to remain in their own homes and avoid the added costs of institutionalization. It would also help to ensure compliance with the 1999 US Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision.

Recommendation: Create a Home Ownership Program for people with all types of disabilities similar to the Home of Your Own Programs that are available through OMRDD and OMH.
Owning a home is a dream for many Americans. Due to economic, social and institutional barriers, this dream is out of reach for many New Yorkers with disabilities, who often live below the poverty level. While New York State does have home ownership programs, through collaborations with SONYMA, for people with developmental or mental health disabilities, these successful programs are not available for persons with other types of disabilities. A Home Ownership Program for people with all types of disabilities can provide information on mortgage products and grants to help individuals who have extremely low to moderate incomes qualify for a low interest mortgage program as a first time homebuyer. This program can provide funding for down payments, closing costs and environmental modifications. A Home Ownership Program is necessary so that individuals with all types of disabilities are able to achieve the American dream of owning their own home.

Administrative Action and Regulatory Reform
There are initiatives that New York State could undertake without legislative action to increase the availability of accessible, affordable, and integrated housing for individuals with disabilities. The following are recommendations for Administrative Action and Regulatory Reform that would accomplish this purpose:

Recommendation: Enforce Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and ensure that New Yorkers with disabilities have access to accessible housing.
The lack of enforcement of Section 504 has contributed to the housing crisis that individuals with disabilities currently face. Although this is a federal law that should be followed in New York State, there is confusion over who is responsible for enforcing it. State agencies have viewed themselves as "pass through" agencies and therefore have abdicated their responsibilities for enforcement to local code officials. Local code officials adhere to the State Building Code and not Section 504. Because entities such as the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), participating jurisdictions and the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) provide federal monies to housing developers, these agencies and municipalities should be responsible for ensuring that all developments that are constructed using federal funds are in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This enforcement could be done immediately.

Specifically, agencies that distribute federal funds for housing development must ensure that the developments are in compliance with the set aside and marketing requirements of Section 504. The funding agency should deny any application that does not contain assurances that the project will comply with Section 504 in terms of architectural design and marketing requirements.

All developers must be required to stipulate a marketing strategy for ensuring that the project will comply with the marketing requirements of Section 504. As part of such a marketing plan, the developers should be required to notify community-based organizations that advocate on behalf of people with disabilities about the availability of accessible units. The agencies to be notified includes agencies that provide services to people with all types of disabilities including people with physical disabilities and/or sensory disabilities. Furthermore, Section 504 owners and managers have an obligation to maximize the utilization of accessible units by individuals with disabilities. The currently lottery system does not maximize the chances that accessible units are occupied by individuals with disabilities. Therefore, in NYS, the lottery process should be amended so that there is a separate lottery for the accessible units. This will maximize the chances that individuals with disabilities will occupy accessible units.

At the brick and mortar stage, code enforcement officials, although not responsible for enforcing Section 504, must be made aware that the development is being built using federal funds, thus triggering compliance with Section 504. Code officials, after receiving appropriate training on Section 504, should be required to sign an affidavit verifying that 5% of the units are accessible to individuals with mobility impairments and 2% of the units are accessible to individuals with sensory disabilities. A designated compliance officer from a regional office of the funding agency, or a subcontractor, should then perform a site review of the development to verify compliance with Section 504. Once the development is cleared as being in compliance, the project will then be ready for occupancy. On a yearly basis, the developer should be mandated to report to the funding agency on the steps they took to ensure that the marketing requirements of Section 504 have been met. Furthermore, during subsequent site visits, the funding agency should specifically note deficiencies in meeting the initial and ongoing marketing requirements of Section 504 and work with the developer to ensure compliance.

In addition, DHCR, participating jurisdictions, HFA and other agencies that distribute federal housing funds should be required to provide an "Annual Report to the Community" which lists all developments that were approved, constructed or rehabilitated in each year, starting in 2004, including all accessible housing units that were created in each development. Advocates can use this report as a guide when trying to determine if a development must comply with Section 504.

Recommendation: Provide mandatory training for code officials and local development officials regarding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Federal Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other codes and regulations.
Code enforcement officials are well versed in the accessibility requirements of the State Building and Residential Codes. However, many code enforcement officials are not aware of the regulatory provisions of Section 504, the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Although code enforcement officials are not responsible for enforcement of these federal laws, it is still important for them to be educated about the requirements. The New York State Department of State (NYSDOS), DHCR and/or HFA should develop, in collaboration with HUD, and perform mandatory training for local code officials and local development officials to ensure that they are educated on Section 504 and can attest to compliance of the architectural requirements of this statute.

This training should also include training on other federal laws that affect construction, such as the Fair Housing Act’s minimum accessibility guidelines for multi-family construction and the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) for commercial construction.

Recommendation: Enact changes to the State Residential Code that would ensure that all newly constructed single-family houses, townhouses, and ground-floor units of duplexes and triplexes meet minimum standards of accessibility or "visitability" for people with disabilities. This includes housing funded through the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), the Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG), and Small Cities Grants.
Currently, only 5% of newly constructed, federally assisted, single-family houses and townhouses must have accessibility features for individuals with mobility impairments. Individuals with disabilities who reside in non-covered housing must pay for expensive renovations themselves or try to secure other limited funding. In many cases, individuals with disabilities are displaced from their own homes into institutions because they are not able to secure funding to make their homes accessible. In other instances, individuals with disabilities become socially isolated because architectural barriers in homes prevent them from visiting friends and relatives.

Therefore, the State should enact changes to the State Residential Code that would require that ALL newly constructed single-family houses, townhouses, and ground-floor units of duplexes and triplexes meet minimum standards of access or visitability. This would allow individuals with disabilities and seniors to remain in their own homes.

Recommendation: Increase subsidies for individuals with disabilities who have extremely low incomes.
"Affordable" housing in New York State is often not affordable to individuals who have extremely low income, particularly those individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Programs such as the "80/20" program, where 80% of the units in a project financed with tax-exempt private activity bonds are rented at market rates and 20% of the units in the project are rented to low income households, has helped many low income families and individuals to secure quality housing. However, individuals with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income do not benefit from this program because of the minimum income requirements. Therefore, individuals with disabilities who have extremely low incomes are at a significant disadvantage when trying to obtain quality housing.

In order to make the 80/20 program, as well as other housing programs, available to individuals who receive SSI, the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) and the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) should explore ways to provide deeper subsidies for individuals with extremely low-incomes. One possibility is to allocate HOME funding for tenant based rental assistance. Individuals with disabilities who have extremely low incomes could use these vouchers to further subsidize their rents. The states of Texas and Arkansas have already allocated HOME funding for this purpose and New York State should follow suit.

Recommendation: DHCR should make individuals who want to transition from nursing homes or other institutions a "preference" in their Section 8 program.
DHCR operates a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program to provide rental assistance to extremely low, very low and low-income households throughout New York State. This is in addition to the Section 8 vouchers that HUD gives directly to participating jurisdictions and housing authorities. In order to increase the availability of housing for individuals who want to transition from nursing homes or other institutions, DHCR should create a "preference" in their Section 8 program for individuals transitioning from nursing homes or other institutions.

Recommendation: The Governor’s Interagency Task Force on Housing for persons with disabilities should be expanded to include persons with disabilities, advocates, and cross-disability provider organizations.
Governor George E. Pataki has created an Interagency Task Force on Housing for persons with disabilities to discuss housing in New York State. While, the NYSILC Housing Committee applauds the Governor’s initiative, this Interagency Task Force should include community representatives. Persons with disabilities, advocates and cross-disability provider organizations can provide first-hand knowledge of the housing crisis that is currently faced by individuals with disabilities and provide key insight into possible solutions to address this crisis.

Local and Federal Recommendations
Although this paper primarily focuses on state-level solutions to the housing crisis, we also think it is important to provide recommendations to local governments, public housing authorities, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). All of these entities should currently be working in conjunction to ensure that individuals with disabilities can obtain accessible, affordable and integrated housing.

Local
Recommendation: Public Housing Authorities and Section 8 rental assistance programs should create a "preference" in their Section 8 programs for persons with disabilities who are transitioning from institutions.
Each Public Housing Authority or administrating agency has the discretion to create "preferences" to reflect the needs of its own community. The creation of "preferences" allows the Public Housing Authority or administrating agency to direct their housing resources to the individuals or families with the greatest needs. For example, some Public Housing Authorities have created "preferences" for individuals who are homeless or involuntarily displaced from permanent housing.

Public Housing Authorities and administrating agencies should create a "preference" in their housing programs for individuals with disabilities who want to transition from institutional placements. Some individuals with disabilities have been forced to go into nursing homes or other institutions because of the lack of accessible, affordable and integrated housing. As these individuals try to transition back into the community, they may not be able to readily secure housing that is suitable to their needs. Sometimes, it can take months or even years to obtain affordable and accessible housing. In the meantime, the individual must remain in an institution. Such a "preference" will assure that institutionalized individuals will be given a better opportunity to secure accessible and affordable housing.

Recommendation: Consolidated plans should allocate more Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funding to make housing accessible and affordable for individuals with disabilities. CDBG and HOME funding could be used for such initiatives as home modification programs, rental subsidy programs for individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and home ownership programs for people with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities should be considered a priority group and every effort should be made to ensure that they can obtain accessible, affordable and integrated housing.

Federal
Recommendation: HUD should develop deeper subsidies for persons who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Affordable housing in New York State is not affordable for individuals who receive SSI. HUD should work with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), and local housing providers to explore ways to provide deeper subsidies for people with disabilities who have extremely low incomes.

Recommendation: Increase the Section 8 fair market values for metro-areas.
Fair market rents for the Section 8 program are too low in metro areas. This has been a particular problem for individuals who live in downstate New York, and also for individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income. Because subsidy amounts are based on fair market rents, inaccurate fair market rents put affordable housing out of reach for many New Yorkers with disabilities. Therefore, we recommend that HUD re-determine the fair market rents for the metro and high-cost areas of New York State in order to make more housing affordable for individuals with disabilities.

Recommendation: HUD should require that at least 10% of all local Consolidated Plan Committee members are people with disabilities.
It is extremely important that individuals with disabilities are involved in the decision-making aspects of the Consolidated Plan process. Unfortunately, some municipalities do not include individuals with disabilities in this process. One of the main purposes of the Consolidated Plan is to increase the amount of affordable housing in a community. Given that individuals with disabilities are among the poorest of our citizens, the Consolidated Plan can be extremely important to ensuring the availability of affordable housing. Thus, individuals with disabilities must be included in all facets of the plan, including any final decisions on how federal housing funds will be used in their community.

Recommendation: HUD’s Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program should be redirected to create integrated housing for people with disabilities.
The Section 811 Housing Program segregates people with disabilities, often by their disability type, from other members of the community by creating "disabled-only apartment complexes". Instead, at least 50% of these federal dollars should be blended with other affordable dollars to construct or rehabilitate subsidized accessible and integrated apartment complexes for individuals with and without disabilities who have extremely low to moderate incomes. Furthermore, additional Section 811 funding should be converted into subsidized housing vouchers for individuals with disabilities who are transitioning from nursing homes or other institutions.

CONCLUSION
The lack of accessible, affordable and integrated housing has led to a housing crisis for New Yorkers with disabilities. The lack of sufficient housing leads to homelessness and the unnecessary isolation and institutionalization of thousands of New Yorkers with disabilities. As the cost of housing continues to grow, this housing crisis will get worse. Housing must be developed that is truly accessible and affordable to all individuals with disabilities. Therefore, New York State must develop a comprehensive housing plan to address this housing crisis and work to ensure that people with disabilities, as one of our state’s poorest groups, have access to one of the most basic necessities---a home to live in.

1 http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36000.html
2 Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc., "Priced Out in 2002: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities", May 2003
3 Ibid.
4 Memo to NYS Assembly Bill A08060