New York, NY – Following approval by its Board of Directors at a meeting on May 30, the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) announced plans to issue up to $1.09 billion in multi-family housing revenue bonds and provide approximately $27 million in additional financing, which in total will fund the new construction and preservation of 5,182 affordable homes across 17 developments in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.
"This latest round of financing will further our efforts under the Housing New York plan to ensure a more inclusive and equitable city. Through these 17 developments, we are delivering on the promise of putting large public sites to greater use, advancing innovative new initiatives like Neighborhood Pillars and the Mitchell-Lama Reinvestment program, and leveraging new federal policies such as income averaging," said HDC President Eric Enderlin. "Thanks to the HDC Board, the tireless work of the entire HDC team, and all our dedicated partners, we will create and preserve more than 5,100 affordable homes for New Yorkers, giving those individuals and families the opportunity and stability they need to thrive."
“HDC continues to be a driving force behind the Mayor’s Housing New York plan, fueling innovative new programs and financing strategies to achieve greater affordability for our city,” said Louise Carroll, HDC Board Chair and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). “I thank my fellow Board Members, the hard-working team at HDC, and our many government, private, and non-profit partners for working with us to advance these critical projects and ensure that more New Yorkers have the safe, quality affordable housing they need and deserve.”
The financing approved will enable the preservation of 3,160 homes across eight existing developments, including the Glendale, a 72-unit portfolio in Queens and the first Neighborhood Pillars project—a new program designed to finance the acquisition and rehabilitation of existing rent-regulated buildings to protect current tenants and stabilize communities.
The Neighborhood Pillars Program is just one example of the City’s efforts to support community-based non-profit organizations in order to strengthen and expand the network of partners necessary to implement the accelerated goals of the Housing New York 2.0 plan.
Half of the projects approved in this latest round of financing include a nonprofit organization or Minority & Women-Owned Business Enterprise as part of the development team, such as the JOE Central Brooklyn project that will be developed by the Joint Ownership Entity New York City, a consortium of local non-profits including St. Nicks Alliance, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Bridge Street Development Corporation, and Pratt Area Community Council. This preservation effort will rehabilitate 524 affordable apartments across 87 rental buildings in Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
This latest round of approved financing will also preserve the affordability of and make needed improvements to 1,970 homes in Mitchell-Lama developments in Manhattan and in Queens. Through the Mitchell-Lama Reinvestment Program, the City continues to deliver on its commitment to help secure the remaining Mitchell-Lama developments, a critical source of affordable housing stock across New York City.
In addition, the authorized bond financing will result in the new construction of 2,022 affordable rental homes in nine developments. Of these projects, eight will be financed under HDC’s Extremely Low & Low-Income Affordability (ELLA) Program and one under HDC’s Mix & Match Program.
The new construction projects also represent a variety of City priorities, including the first phase of Sendero Verde, a 361-unit affordable building designed to Passive House standards, alongside a charter school, community facility space, shared courtyard, and three community gardens to be located on a large City-owned site in the East Harlem rezoning area; River Crest Phase A, which will bring 250 affordable rental apartments and, commercial, and community facility space to the Concourse section of the Bronx and continue the City’s commitment to the Jerome Avenue rezoning; The Peninsula (Building 1B), which will develop 183 units of low-income housing on the site of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center; and a development with 151 affordable homes for seniors at NYCHA’s Betances campus.
It is anticipated that the majority of the new construction developments will incorporate income averaging, a new Federal low-income housing tax credit requirement passed in 2018 that promotes a greater diversity of household incomes in LIHTC-financed developments so long as the average of designated tiers of income equals 60% of area median income or less.
###
