New York, NY – November 25, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Vicki Been announced today the release of a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop new affordable housing on six sites: three in Brooklyn, two in the Bronx, and one in Manhattan, in the neighborhoods of East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Melrose, Crotona Park East, and Central Harlem. One of the new measures announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio to increase the role of M/WBEs in City housing and economic development projects, the RFP is only open to a pre-qualified list of M/WBE developers created through the competitive Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process.
HPD and the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) also launched the 2015-16 capacity building course for M/WBEs in partnership with the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH), Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, Holland & Knight, and Paul, Weiss. Expanding on the success of the inaugural course introduced last year, the new session includes nonprofit developers
This is one of several new measures the Mayor announced recently to increase the role of M/WBEs in City housing and economic development projects. In addition, the City will establish a new $10 million predevelopment loan fund to help emerging firms secure financing to purchase land and get projects underway, as well as an additional new $10 million fund to help those firms secure the bonds they need in order to qualify for City business. Additional reforms will reduce unnecessary barriers in the RFP process and introduce a two-step RFP process to limit upfront investments and provide feedback for respondents
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