MAYOR DE BLASIO: NYC SETS AFFORDABLE HOUSING RECORD, HIGHEST PRODUCTION SINCE 1989

23,284 affordable homes financed in Fiscal Year 2016 – second highest in history

Nearly 3,500 homes financed in past year for households earning less than $24,000

Comprehensive Efforts to Protect Neighborhoods: More investments in NYCHA, rent freeze for rent-regulated tenants, evictions down 24 percent

NEW YORK – (RealEstateRama) — Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that his administration secured 23,284 affordable apartments and homes during Fiscal Year 2016, the second highest production in New York City history and the most since Ed Koch was mayor.

The Mayor’s Housing New York plan now is ahead of schedule, with 52,936 affordable homes financed so far, enough for 130,000 New Yorkers. Affordable housing for the very poorest New Yorkers – those earning less than $24,000 per year – surged with 3,500 new apartments. Nearly 4,000 affordable homes for low-income seniors are also underway.

The City is protecting neighborhood affordability on every front. The City is investing more than ever in NYCHA and its 600,000 tenants, evictions have declined 24 percent in two years, and the Rent Guidelines Board just passed its second consecutive rent freeze affecting 2.5 million tenants.

New Yorkers can apply for affordable housing at nyc.gov/housingconnect or by calling 311.

“The biggest and most progressive affordable housing plan in the nation is on-budget and ahead of schedule,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Financing enough affordable homes for 130,000 people in just two and a half years is an extraordinary accomplishment. Just like getting 70,000 kids into Pre-K for All or putting an IDNYC in the hands of more than 800,000 New Yorkers, this is a significant milestone in our effort to make this city fairer and more affordable for everyone.”

“We ramped up from day one to meet the goals of Housing New York, and are now seeing the results of those efforts. This is borne out not just in the numbers, but in the people we are reaching through the affordable housing we build and preserve,” said HPD Commissioner Vicki Been. “This administration is committed to reaching far deeper levels of affordability, and we didn’t just meet our targets – we exceeded the targets we set through programmatic and policy changes that will shape the future of our City for generations to come.”

“The Department of City Planning is working with communities, our sister agencies and elected officials to identify opportunities for affordable housing in applications both public and private. This year’s numbers prove that this focus on affordable housing is bearing fruit. As we move forward, tools such as MIH and ZQA will help foster economically diverse neighborhoods and house a wider range of New Yorkers. Neighborhood planning initiatives, like the East New York Community Plan, will increase capacity to ensure future housing opportunities and create thriving neighborhoods with investments to support growth. Working together, we are creating a more equitable New York with affordable housing for residents at all income levels,” said Director of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission Carl Weisbrod.

“The gains we have made to date represent tangible progress for New Yorkers struggling to find and stay in affordable housing,” said HDC President Gary Rodney. “Our robust toolbox of financing programs have allowed us to spur ground-breaking new developments and preserve the quality and affordability of existing housing for people at all income levels that is so essential to thriving, diverse neighborhoods.”

In the second full fiscal year of the Mayor’s Housing New York plan to build 200,000 affordable homes in ten years, the City financed more than 6,000 new apartments and 17,000 preserved homes. These new and preserved affordable homes represent a direct investment of $780 million by the City of New York, which leveraged more than $1.29 billion in bonds issued by the Housing Development Corporation during FY 2016.

One-quarter of all affordable housing financed since 2014 will reach New Yorkers making less than $31,100 for an individual or $40,800 for a family of three. Of these homes, 50 percent are for New Yorkers making less than $19,050, or $24,500 for a family of three. This progress reflects the traction of new programs and initiatives targeting the very lowest-income families, including the formerly homeless.

To meet the goals of Housing New York, the Mayor doubled the capital funding for HPD, and, most recently, in the ten-year capital plan included nearly $7.5 billion for affordable housing, and more than $1 billion in funding for the parks, libraries, road construction and other infrastructure necessary to support neighborhood growth and new housing opportunities.

Beyond the numbers, the City made major progress in FY16:

New rules for growth: The City achieved an historic victory with the City Council’s adoption of the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) program, landmark legislation that will require developers to create permanently affordable housing as a condition of development in areas rezoned for growth. MIH was applied to a rezoning in East New York that represents a new contract with the community to correct decades of under-investment through commitments to protect tenants, build truly affordable housing, and invest in jobs, parks, and a new school.

More apartments for the very lowest-income families: Through programs like HPD and HDC’s new Extremely Low and Low Income Affordability (ELLA) program, the City exceeded its target of 8 percent of housing for the lowest income New Yorkers. In fiscal year 2016, 15 percent of the homes financed were for New Yorkers making less than $19,050, or $24,500 for a family of three. Approximately 3,487 homes for extremely-low income families were financed last year, bringing the two-year total to 6,817.

More low-income senior housing: New programs, including the Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) program resulted in the new construction and renovation of 1,372 affordable apartments for a growing senior population, who too are often living on fixed incomes. This brings the total number of senior affordable apartments financed to date to 3,697. Significantly, the passage of Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) will allow for more – and a broader range of – senior affordable housing.

Stable housing for the formerly homeless: Through new initiatives such as Our Space to fund the new construction of rental units affordable to homeless households and “HomeStretch” to create a pathway from shelter to permanently affordable housing, the City is working on multiple fronts to stem the homelessness crisis. 1,907 apartments for the formerly homeless were financed in FY 2016, bringing the HNY total to 3,832.

Aggressive preservation: From the preservation of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village and Riverton Houses in Manhattan to four-story walkup buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, the City is firing on all cylinders to keep tenants in affordable homes in fast-changing neighborhoods and protect the existing stock of affordable housing that exists in every neighborhood. The first project was financed under the Green Housing Preservation Program – an effort to make small- and mid-sized multifamily properties more affordable and sustainable.

Affordable homeownership: Partnering with elected officials, the Attorney General, and various for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, the City purchased 24 distressed mortgages for one- to four-family homes – with a total of 41 residential units – in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. This out-of-the-box thinking will keep homeowners affected by the mortgage crisis in their homes, and is just one example of the work that has resulted in 4,159 affordable homeownership opportunities provided to date.

Job opportunities: Through HireNYC, the City is expanding access to quality jobs on affordable housing projects receiving more than $2 million in City subsidy. Since March 2016, HPD has closed 34 projects, including more than 6,000 affordable units that require participation in HireNYC. In addition, through the Building Opportunity Initiative, the City is expanding the participation of Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) and non-profit organizations in the development of affordable housing.

A more sustainable city: To advance the goals of One City: Built to Last, HPD issued its first Request For Proposals to require Passive House designs – building standards that reduce a building’s energy consumption by as much as 75 percent. SustaiNYC will result in a 100 percent affordable development that will be the largest Passive House project in the nation at the East 111th Street Site, City-owned land in East Harlem. HDC also issued $1 billion in Sustainable Neighborhood Bonds, the first social investment bond for affordable housing in the United States to attract investors interested in projects that provide community development and environmental benefits to neighborhoods.

Learn more at nyc.gov/housing.

Housing New York by the Numbers

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