Fix 224-a Now and Deliver for New York’s Workers
Every New Yorker agrees that we need more housing, better infrastructure, and projects that spur economic growth. And according to a poll by the Siena College Research Institute commissioned by the New York State Building Trades, 77% of New Yorkers believe that if a private developer is taking public money to build it, they should pay the workers a fair wage. In 2020, the Governor and the Legislature passed 224-a establishing that when developers benefit from public funds they should meet public responsibilities, including paying prevailing wages to construction workers. The idea was simple: if you take from the people’s pot, you owe something back to the people. That means decent wages, safe job sites, and dignity for the working men and women who put on a hard hat every morning. After all, affordability isn’t just about cutting costs – we also need to make sure working men and women are able to earn a fair wage for their labor.
But the reality has not lived up to the promise.
Every year, developers across New York rake in millions of taxpayer dollars through these public subsidies meant to support growth, housing, and infrastructure. But far too often, those same developers turn around and shortchange the very workers who are building our future: underpaying them, cutting corners, and bypassing basic labor standards. It’s not just unfair, it’s unacceptable.
That’s why we urgently need to reform 224-a.
In four years only six projects have qualified under 224-a. Why? Because the law is riddled with vague definitions, confusing thresholds, and a weak enforcement system that has allowed a dysfunctional board to prevent meaningful accountability. The system is effectively rigged to let developers cash in on our money while leaving workers behind.
224-a is not working as intended. But the fix is simple, and the time to act is now.
First, make the existing thresholds fair and clear, limiting the opportunity for developers to artificially inflate pre-work costs to make them appear ineligible for fair pay requirements. Then remove exemptions for Downtown Revitalization Initiative projects and brownfield sites while empowering the nonpartisan professional staff at the Department of Labor – not a politically connected board that has not even met in 2025 – to enforce the statue. Finally, require public reporting of all public subsidies, and make the system more transparent to the New Yorkers who are funding private developments. These reforms would do what the original law set out to achieve, while continuing to support housing production and economic growth.
We represent the workers who build New York from the ground up. They are the backbone of our state’s progress, working in tough conditions, on tight deadlines, and often at great personal risk. All they ask for is safe working conditions and a fair wage. Our laws should guarantee that.
Both houses of the State Legislature support changes to 224-a in the final budget agreement, and now the leaders and the Governor face a critical choice. Will they stand with working families and fix 224-a and come to a deal to fix a clearly broken, dysfunctional system? Or will they allow backroom politics to continue funneling public money to developers with no strings attached?
The answer should be clear. Now is the moment to act. Let’s fix 224-a, hold developers accountable, and ensure that public money serves the public good. Working New Yorkers are counting on it.
Todd Diorio President of Hudson Valley Building and Construction Trades Council and Chairman of NYS Laborers PAC
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