Remove systemic barriers in affordable housing

Rochester and Monroe County are facing a housing crisis that impacts all of us, whether you’re a low-income renter, a working parent struggling to live near your job or kid’s school, or a small business owner watching your employees commute from farther and farther away. The demand for housing across our community continues to outpace the supply, driving up costs and pushing families into increasingly unstable situations.

Too often, the phrase “affordable housing” is misunderstood or mischaracterized. It’s treated narrowly; as a concept only applicable to those in deep poverty, rather than as a foundational building block of economic stability and growth for all. In truth, affordable housing is workforce housing. It’s housing for the teacher who can’t afford to live near the school where they work, the nurse who serves our aging parents, and the construction worker who helps build our city’s future.

If we are serious about solving Rochester’s housing crisis, we need to be serious about expanding our toolkit, and making space not only for new ideas, but for new neighbors.

That’s why we’re calling on our community to take a fresh look at manufactured housing.

Manufactured housing is not the trailer park stereotype of years past. Today, it is a high-quality, cost-effective, energy efficient, and dignified housing option that can be deployed quickly and thoughtfully, especially when integrated into urban infill sites. Across New York State and the country, manufactured homes are helping close the housing supply gap and offer residents an affordable path to homeownership. They offer families stability, equity, and a real stake in their communities.

We applaud Mayor Malik Evans for his leadership in recognizing this potential and launching a city initiative to explore how manufactured housing can be scaled in Rochester. His commitment to equity-centered development, especially when it challenges conventional assumptions, is exactly the kind of forward-thinking approach this moment demands. We encourage other municipal leaders across Monroe County to follow his lead and explore this potential for their towns and villages.

But good ideas are only part of the equation. We must also remove the systemic barriers, like restrictive and exclusionary zoning, that prevent these solutions from taking root in our neighborhoods. Reforming zoning laws to allow for mixed-income, mixed-use development, including manufactured housing, is essential to creating a more inclusive Rochester.

As the largest operator of manufactured homes in New York State, Cook Properties brings a deep track record in developing and managing these housing communities across New York. The Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI) brings on-the-ground expertise in how stable housing intersects with poverty, enabling upward mobility and expanding opportunity. Together, we believe that Rochester can be a model for what equitable, sustainable housing looks like, if we’re willing to expand our thinking and take bold, collaborative action.

We can’t afford to leave viable solutions on the table. Our community is counting on us.

Aqua Porter is the Executive Director of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative.

Jeff Cook is the President and CEO of Cook Properties.