HOW SHOULD A RURAL COUNTY FACING A VARIETY OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PRESSURES THINK ABOUT AND SHAPE ITS HOUSING SITUATION?

SUMMARY

Sullivan County was once the epicenter of the Catskill Region’s “Borscht Belt,” a seasonal destination for families escaping the heat and congestion of New York City summers. Since the region’s tourism peak in the middle of the 20th Century, Sullivan County has struggled with the interconnected challenges of limited economic activity, high levels of rural poverty, aging housing stocks, and little to no new housing development. The County is seeking a strategy that will help it influence housing supply and demand to set the market on a better footing to address some of its longstanding challenges. A draft strategy was released for public review in late Summer 2022.