Twenty five percent of the plan now targets the lowest income New Yorkers
NEW YORK, NY— New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announces new targets to achieve deeper affordability in Housing New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ten-year plan to create and preserve 200,000 affordable homes. Following the Mayor’s commitment in January to provide an additional $1.9 billion in City capital to provide deeper affordability, the new targets will result in a 31 percent increase in the number of homes that will be built or preserved for New Yorkers making less than $25,000 a year for a family of three, and an increase of 21 percent for families making less than $41,000 a year.
The revisions mean more than 80 percent of the plan will now reach New Yorkers earning $69,000 or less for a family of three.
“From the start of Housing New York, we set out to reach more of the city’s neediest families and aggressively tackle the affordability crisis grappling our city,” said HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “Now, with our programs firmly in place and the Mayor’s commitment of an additional $2 billion in City capital, we can achieve even deeper affordability in the housing plan–giving ten thousand more households the security of a quality, affordable home.”
“This administration has been laser-focused on serving the city’s lowest income residents as part of our ambitious plan to create and preserve 200,000 affordable homes,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin. “Through new programs and strategies, we are exceeding our goals and looking to achieve even deeper affordability, which will be made possible through the Mayor’s commitment of an additional $2 billion in capital. We look forward to working with our partners at all level of governments and across the affordable housing community to address the housing needs of our city.”
When the housing plan was introduced in 2014, the City, for the first time, set targets for building and preserving homes for extremely-low and very-low income (ELI/VLI) families (or families of three earning less than $25,000 a year and $41,000 a year respectively). In three years, as of March 31, the plan has financed 63,398 affordable homes, of which 29 percent – or 17,800 homes – are for these families.
With that baseline firmly in place, the Mayor committed to increase by 10,000 the number of homes that will be built and preserved for these families. The updated plan increases the VLI target by 5,000 units and the ELI target by 5,000 homes. HPD is in the process of rolling out updated term sheets that will allow the City to put the additional $1.9 billion in capital to work right away.
The plan seeks to create mixed-income affordable housing developments that reflect and contribute to the diversity of the city and its neighborhoods, while generating projects with sufficient revenue to operate and serve taxpayers for the long term.
