New York has set bold goals to expand affordable housing, but there’s a quiet crisis that threatens to derail it: the skyrocketing cost of insurance.

New York is aiming to build 800,000 new homes over the next 10 years. But nearly 1 in 5 affordable housing developers say they’ve had to pause projects due to insurance challenges. Insurance premiums are now the fastest-growing operating cost in affordable housing, surpassing utilities and maintenance.

For affordable housing developers, soaring insurance rates on an already tight budget are an existential threat. It’s time that New York treats it like one.

According to the New York Housing Conference, between 2019 and 2023, the average insurance cost per affordable unit jumped 103% from $869 to $1,770 in New York City. In the Bronx, where

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