Income-Eligible New Yorkers Displaced From their Homes Due To Storm Damage Receive 15% Preference in Lotteries for Low-Income Affordable Housing
New York, N.Y. – June 19, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua today announced the latest housing development to offer preference to income-eligible New Yorkers displaced from their homes by Hurricane Sandy. Harlem River Point South will add a total of 139 affordable housing rental apartments to the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. Fifteen percent of the 139 affordable units will be subject to the Sandy preference. These units will be filled through a lottery managed by the developer and overseen by HPD and the City’s Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
The new 139-unit Harlem River Point South is being developed as part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP). The NHMP is a multi-billion dollar initiative to finance 165,000 units of affordable housing for half a million New Yorkers by the close of Fiscal Year 2014. For every dollar invested by the City, the Plan has leveraged $3.43 in private funding for a total commitment of more than $21 billion to fund the creation or preservation of over 147,890 units of affordable housing across the five boroughs, with more than 48,848 units financed in Manhattan.
“We can’t overlook the displaced families who still suffer from Hurricane Sandy,” said HPD Commissioner Wambua. “The need is very real and immediate for those looking to find a place to call home. We at HPD, along with our development partners, continue to do what we can to help people find permanent housing that they can afford.”
“This is another great option in the HPD preference program for residents displaced by Hurricane Sandy, and will ultimately make our goal to return people to safe, sustainable housing a reality,” said Brad Gair, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations.
Harlem River Point South is currently accepting applications. Completed applications must be returned by regular mail only and must be postmarked by August 12, 2013. Qualified applicants will be required to meet income, family size guidelines and additional selection criteria. Applications may be downloaded from www.harlemriverpointsouth.com or requested by mail from 316 West 118th Street, New York, NY 10026. Please include a self-addressed envelope with your request. Current and eligible residents of Manhattan Community Board 11 will receive preference for 50 percent of the units. Eligible veterans will receive preference for 10 percent of the units. In addition, income-eligible applicants who can document displacement by Hurricane Sandy and/or its related storms will receive preference for 15 percent of the units.
Harlem River Point South is the second phase of the redevelopment of city property that once belonged to Human Resources Administration (HRA). The first phase is Harlem River Point North on 1951 Park Avenue and 121 East 131 Street, which is also accepting applications until June 27th, 2013. It too has a preference for New Yorkers displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Application guidelines for Harlem River Point North one can be found here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/downloads/pdf/Harlem-River-Point-North.pdf.
Located at 200 East 131 Street in East Harlem of Manhattan, Harlem River Point South will have a total of 139 rental units; 29 of the units will be affordable to households earning up to 40 percent of Area Median Income (AMI)—equal to a household income of $34,360/year for a family of four—and the remaining 110 units will be affordable to households earning up to 60 percent of the AMI, which is equal to a household income of $51,540/year for a family of four. Of the 139 apartments, there is a preference for qualified households displaced by Hurricane Sandy for 21 units in the building. There are a total of 21 studios, 48 one-bedroom units, 68 two-bedroom units, and 2 three-bedroom units. The anticipated completion date for the development is early 2014.
The construction of the new Harlem River Point South development is near completion. The building will share an open landscaped courtyard with Harlem River Point North. The building will include an intercom system, on-site super, bicycle parking and a laundry-room.
The City of New York requires that subsidized apartments be rented through an Open Lottery System to ensure fair and equitable distribution of housing to eligible applicants. Marketing of the apartments and the application process for the lottery typically begin when construction is approximately 70 percent complete. For more information regarding the lottery process, current housing lotteries, how to apply to an open lottery, and if you would like to receive an e-mail when HPD updates its available apartment and home website listings for City-subsidized housing in the five boroughs, please visit the Apartment Seekers and Homebuyers pages at www.nyc.gov.
The total development cost for Harlem River Point South is $40.9 million. HPD provided $2 million in HOME funds and $5.7 million in City Capital funds. HDC contributed $9.1 million in reserves and $5.3 million in tax exempt bonds. Boston Capital is the syndicator for tax credit equity in the amount of $17.4 million. The balance is developer equity.
The project was developed by L&M Development Partners and was designed by GF55 Schwartz.
About the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
HPD is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and viable neighborhoods for New Yorkers through education, outreach, loan and development programs and enforcement of housing quality standards. It is responsible for implementing Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan to finance the construction or preservation of 165,000 units of affordable housing by 2014. Since the plan’s inception, more than 147,893 affordable homes have been created or preserved. For regular updates on news and services, connect with us via www.facebook.com/nychpd and www.twitter.com/nychousing. For more information, visit our website at www.nyc.gov/hpd.
About the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations
The Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations is committed to planning and implementing innovative and effective solutions to the housing needs caused by Hurricane Sandy. Through NYC Rapid Repairs, the City has already completed emergency repairs on more than 19,000 residences. These emergency repairs are free of charge and include the restoration of heat, power and hot water and other limited repairs to protect a home from further significant damage.
About the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC)
Since 2000, HDC has issued roughly 10% of all the multi-family housing revenue bonds in the U.S. and since 2003, when Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan was launched, HDC has raised more than $6.7 billion in financing for affordable housing developments, including in excess of $1 billion in subsidy from corporate reserves. In Affordable Housing Finance magazine’s annual listing of the nation’s top ten funders of multifamily housing, HDC is the only municipal entity on the list. In 2012, HDC was the fourth largest affordable housing lender in the U.S. after Citi, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, beating out JPMorgan Chase and Capital One. To date, under the Mayor’s plan, HDC has financed the creation or preservation of more than 67,000 affordable units in multi-family buildings that also include 1.7 million square feet of commercial space. For additional information, visit: www.nychdc.com
