De Blasio Administration Financed More Than 34,000 Affordable Homes In 2018 – A New Record

January 16, 2019

The City financed record-high for new construction with more than 10,000 affordable apartments; since 2014, the City has secured nearly 122,000 affordable homes

NEW YORK—– Mayor de Blasio announced today that his administration financed 34,160 affordable homes last year, setting a new high-water mark for affordable housing production in New York City. This includes a record for both new construction, with 10,099 new homes financed, as well as for preservation, with 24,061 apartments. In 2017, the administration broke the previous record, set by former Mayor Ed Koch in 1989. This brings the total number of homes financed to date under the City’s ambitious Housing New York plan to nearly 122,000 apartments. Nearly 85 percent of all homes financed through the Mayor’s housing plan are affordable to low-income New Yorkers, of which more than 40 percent will serve families earning less than $46,950.

“Family by family, building by building, we’re giving people the security of knowing they can stay in the city they love. Last year, we created and preserved affordable housing that will reach 85,000 New Yorkers – enough to fill an entire neighborhood the size of Flushing. And we’re just warming up. This year, we’ll launch a new Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants that will fight for residents in every community,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“In New York City, we’re preserving and building affordable housing at rates that far outpace any other city and even most states. We’ve created a powerful machine that will continue to produce results for years to come, so that even as our city grows, New Yorkers will be able to stay in the neighborhoods they helped build,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen.

"The 34,160 homes financed last year represent a new high-water mark for affordable housing, and real relief for hard-working families struggling to make ends meet," said Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “Last year, we broke all the records for affordable housing production, and a full 60 percent of the homes financed serve extremely- and very low-income New Yorkers. The 122,000 homes completed or underway reflect significant progress on large public sites, far-reaching policies to secure more affordable housing with no City financing, a lifeline to safeguard affordability at more of our city's Mitchell-Lamas, and major inroads on new programs laid out in HNY 2.0 from Neighborhood Pillars to Partners in Preservation. All this work complements our broader efforts to fight displacement and protect tenants, and we thank our Mayor and Deputy Mayor for their extraordinary vision and unwavering support, the tireless teams at HPD and HDC for their creativity and commitment, and all our dedicated partners for their steadfast support in our fight to keep this city affordable for generations to come.”

“HDC is proud to have provided more than $1.8 billion in bond financing toward another record-breaking year of affordable housing production for our city. The 122,000 homes created and preserved through Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York plan are providing security and affordability to New Yorkers today, while also anchoring communities for generations to come,” said Housing Development Corporation President Eric Enderlin. “The 34,000 apartments financed last year are a testament to the visionary leadership of the administration, the ongoing support of our elected officials, the outstanding efforts of our countless partners across the public and private sectors, and of course our teams at HDC and HPD who are constantly working to meet the diverse housing needs of our dynamic and evolving city.”

To celebrate this historic milestone, the Mayor visited Tres Puentes, a new senior housing development financed through HPD’s Senior Affordable Rental Apartments program. These 175 new affordable apartments for seniors, including 53 formerly homeless seniors, were constructed on what had been a parking lot and underused space next to Borinquen Court, a 145-apartment federal Housing and Urban Development 202 senior project that the City previously preserved. This project is the prototype for the new Housing+ initiative proposed as part of HNY 2.0.

Protecting tenants is a core part of the City’s strategy to confront the affordable housing crisis. The newly created Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants will spearhead the City’s anti-harassment and outreach initiatives, aggressively enhance interagency enforcement and more closely engage with tenants and advocates. The City is also pursuing legislation to dramatically increase financial penalties against bad landlords and seize buildings from neglectful owners.

The 34,160 affordable apartments financed last year represent a direct City investment of $1.73 billion, leveraging more than $1.84 billion in bonds issued by HDC. This brings the total direct City investment under the Mayor’s housing plan to date to $5.05 billion, and the total bond financing to $8.12 billion. The City has continued to exceed its goals, not just in terms of numbers, but in terms of affordability, while staying within the amount of capital budgeted each year.

Affordable housing numbers are available here.

The plan continues to live up to its initial promises:

Rezoning Areas / Public Sites: The City advanced new construction on large public sites in rezoning and urban renewal areas, including major developments at Hunter’s Point South in Long Island City, Queens, MEC 125th Street in East Harlem, and the first phase of a multi-phase development in Coney Island, Brooklyn. These projects represent some of the 3,000 newly constructed apartments financed on public land last year; bringing the total under HNY to 10,480 homes. 

Mandatory Inclusionary Housing: Since MIH was introduced in March 2016, the City has financed 1,300 permanently affordable homes, and is now tracking 7,800 MIH apartments through rezoning applications; including 5,600 MIH apartments in 64 projects approved by the City Council that have not yet closed. 

421a: The City also produced 1,175 affordable apartments across 134 projects through 421a with no additional City funding. This is almost a four-fold increase from last calendar year in the number of apartments created, most of which are in high-cost neighborhoods.

Homeless and Supportive Housing: Through significant changes to our financing programs, the City secured 2,500 apartments for homeless New Yorkers – a record number that brought the total to almost 10,000 apartments set aside for homeless households over the life of the plan. In part, this includes the 4,770 supportive housing apartments the City has financed since the start of the administration.

Housing Connect: The City’s housing lottery posted 7,700 affordable homes in 2018, an increase of nearly 50% from the 5,200 affordable apartments that went through the lottery in 2017, and nearly triple the 2,900 posted in 2014. Since 2014, HPD and HDC have marketed 24,443 affordable apartments through Housing Connect, including 18,800 financed under HNY. The agencies also updated their guidelines to speed up the delivery of affordable housing and ensure those homes serve the New Yorkers who need them most. 

M/WBE Build Up: New program spurred 63 projects with 18,122 apartments to set and meet M/WBE participation goals that are expected to generate more than $306 million in spending. Since the program’s inception, 105 projects have been required to participate in the program for a combined expected spending amount of $481 million.

Advancing Key Initiatives of HNY 2.0

In November 2017, the administration launched Housing New York 2.0, a roadmap to achieve the accelerated and expanded goal of producing 300,000 affordable homes by 2026. Since then, HPD and HDC have made significant progress towards many of the key initiatives laid out in HNY 2.0, including:

Seniors: As part of Seniors First, a three-pronged strategy to help serve 30,000 seniors over the 12 year plan, HPD introduced Aging in Place to ensure seniors in preservation projects get the improvements they need to stay in their apartments and age in place. Last year, the City financed 1,830 apartments for seniors; bringing the total number of senior homes produced under HNY to 7,390. 

Anti-displacement: Created the new Neighborhood Pillars program to help finance the acquisition and rehabilitation of rent-stabilized and unregulated buildings, and Partners in Preservation to identify community-based organizations to develop and coordinate anti-displacement strategies with local stakeholders and tenants in targeted neighborhoods.

Mitchell-Lamas: Secured the continued affordability of 14,859 coops and apartments in Mitchell-Lama developments, including Masyrk Towers, Lindsay Park, Franklin Plaza Apartments, and Starrett City, the largest federally subsidized development in the nation. This brings the total of Mitchell-Lama homes and apartments preserved under HNY to 33,937.

Homeownership: Rolled out the new HomeFix program to connect existing homeowners to funding for repairs and counseling, and launched Open Door to build new affordable condos and coops. Last year, the City financed 10,295 homeownership opportunities for a total of 22,895 under the plan. 

Innovation: Launched ShareNYC, a new initiative to reshape the model of shared housing into a dynamic new source of affordable housing for New Yorkers, and Modular NYC to leverage the use of modular design and construction.

To learn more about how New Yorkers can apply for affordable housing, fight eviction, and freeze their rent, visit the City’s new housing web portal at nyc.gov/housing. 

“Tackling our city’s affordable housing crisis is no easy task and I congratulate the de Blasio administration on this milestone,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “New Yorkers in every neighborhood need more affordable units and we should continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.”

“Affordable housing is very much tied to workforce availability and the vibrancy of our communities,” said Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz, Chair of the Assembly’s Housing Committee. “The gains we achieved in preserving and creating affordable housing in the last year make it possible for thousands of families, seniors and other New Yorkers to improve their lives and remain a vital, engaged part of our communities.”

“It is a testament to the laser focus of this administration that we as a city continue to break new ground in the construction and preservation of affordable housing here in New York City. Equally important is the commitment to creating opportunities for more New Yorkers to own homes, which provides people the chance to build and transfer generational wealth. I look forward to continuing to support this important work in my role as Chair of the Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings,” said Council Member Robert Cornegy.

“This housing milestone is a victory for low-income New Yorkers who are in need of affordable apartments, as well as for communities across the City that are being revitalized through the investments brought forth by these developments,” said Council Member Ritchie Torres.

“Creating and preserving affordable housing is integral to the viability of low-income and working-class communities, like the ones I represent,” said Council Member Diana Ayala. “I congratulate Mayor de Blasio and his administration for exceeding their housing goals and I look forward to working with them to bring more affordable opportunities to East Harlem and the South Bronx.”

“I commend Mayor Bill de Blasio for leading this Administrations’ efforts in financing 34,000 affordable homes last year, which includes 10,000 new construction homes financed and 24,000 apartments that were preserved. The Mayor’s housing plan continues to break previous records to set new all-time highs. Through the use of programs like Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, Housing Connect, rezonings, senior housing, anti-displacement initiatives and much more, the total number of homes financed to date has reached nearly 122,000 units. I’m thankful for the investments made to date to create affordable housing and hope we continue to see more housing for formerly homeless New Yorkers, seniors, veterans and families,” said Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson.

"LiveOn NY commends Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer for their dedication to the historic production and preservation of affordable housing," states Allison Nickerson, Executive Director of LiveOn NY. "LiveOn NY is appreciative of the monumental effort that goes into every unit of affordable housing and we are heartened by the impact that these homes will have, particularly on the lives of New York's older adults. As the population of seniors continues to increase, we look forward to continuing to work with the city to build upon the progress made and to our overall commitment to making New York a better place age."

“Habitat NYC would like to congratulate Mayor de Blasio, Deputy Mayor Glen and Commissioner Torres-Springer on another successful year building and preserving affordable housing across the city,” said Habitat for Humanity New York City CEO Karen Haycox. “We are proud to partner with the City to expand affordable homeownership to even more hard-working families. We are particularly proud of Sydney House, the first development financed under the City’s Open Door program, which will provide 56 families the opportunity to become first-time homeowners. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with the City, working together to build a better New York for everyone.”

“We congratulate Mayor de Blasio and the City on their remarkable achievement in building and preserving a record number of affordable housing units in 2018,” said Christie Peale, CEO and Executive Director of the Center for NYC Neighborhoods. “We are especially excited to learn that the City financed more than 10,000 homes this past year, bringing the economic benefits of homeownership closer to many more New Yorkers. We look forward to continuing to work with the City as it builds on these successes.”

“We congratulate the City on this achievement and look forward to furthering our shared commitment to ensure every New Yorker has access to a safe, affordable home,” said Judi Kende, Vice President and New York market leader of Enterprise Community Partners. “With millions of New Yorkers burdened by high rents and 60,000 people homeless, it is more important now than ever to build and preserve quality affordable housing in our city. We are proud to partner with HPD and HDC to create homes that meet the diverse needs of New Yorkers, including seniors, people with disabilities, formerly homeless families, and many others.”

“The Supportive Housing Network of New York congratulates the City on its progress with NYC 15/15, the City’s pledge to create 15,000 units of supportive housing in the next fifteen years, as well as HPD’s work funding supportive housing more broadly across the City. We thank the City for its longstanding commitment to creating affordable housing linked to services for the most vulnerable homeless New Yorkers and look forward to more announcements like today’s in the very near future,” said Laura Mascuch, Executive Director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York.

“We applaud the City of New York for the 2018 accomplishments of the Housing New York 2.0 Plan, including financing over 34,000 affordable homes in 2018 – the largest level of production in the City’s history,” said Sam Marks, Executive Director of LISC NYC. “We particularly appreciate the City partnering with community development financial institutions and the nonprofit community on initiatives like Neighborhood Pillars, Partners in Preservation, and the New York Land Opportunity Program (NYLOP). LISC NYC and our locally-based, mission-driven developer partners stand ready to collaborate with the City to meet the Plan’s overarching goal of building and preserving 300,000 units by 2026.”

“SAGE congratulates Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer on their extraordinary achievement of securing a record-breaking number of affordable homes for New Yorkers under Housing New York 2.0. We are thrilled to increase these numbers even more, as we celebrate the opening of New York’s first LGBT-welcoming senior housing facilities in the Bronx and Brooklyn in 2019,” said SAGE CEO Michael Adams. “We cannot think of a better way to honor our LGBT pioneers during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, than by fulfilling a decades-long dream of building LGBT-friendly housing. We look forward to celebrating these milestones with the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, HPD Commissioner, and all of our supporters and partners in the upcoming months.”

“At a time when we see profound inaction from the federal government, New Yorkers can take pride in the de Blasio administration’s commitment to delivering real, progressive results for communities across the city,” said Jolie Milstein, President and CEO of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing. “NYSAFAH looks forward to continuing to work alongside Mayor de Blasio and all stakeholders to maximize affordable housing production, create good jobs and strengthen our neighborhoods.”

“Creating accessible affordable housing is critical to supporting our growing city, and to maintaining the diverse and vibrant neighborhoods that make New York great,” said Steven Rubenstein, Chairman for the Association for a Better New York. “We applaud the Mayor’s Administration and the Council for their commitment to providing affordable homes for New Yorkers and their families.”

“Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer have made it very clear that they are dedicated to fighting the affordability crisis in New York City,” says Rebecca Senn, Executive Director of the New York Mortgage Coalition. “Every day, residents are being shut out of the housing market in New York City due to rising home prices, cash buyers, and investor competition. The Mayor has made extensive progresses in keeping housing affordable for all New Yorkers with this incredible milestone. The New York Mortgage Coalition’s nonprofit housing counseling agencies are grateful to Mayor de Blasio and all of our partners for keeping housing affordability at the forefront of the agenda and working to create a more affordable and equitable city.”

"As part of the city's affordable housing community, MBD Community Housing Corp. congratulates the Mayor, NYC HPD, HDC and other City agencies for achieving these impressive accomplishments toward the Mayor's ambitious goals to preserve and create much needed affordable housing in the Bronx and throughout the City," said Derrick Lovett, President and CEO of MBD Community Housing Corp.

“Affordable housing is the foundation of any livable community, and it remains a top concern of AARP’s members across New York City,” said AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel. “Fifty-plus New Yorkers of color are twice as likely as 50-plus white New Yorkers to pay more than half their income for housing.  AARP applauds Mayor de Blasio and HPD Commissioner Torres-Springer for their commitment to preserve New York City’s affordable housing stock and create additional units of affordable housing toward the goal of 300,000 overall by 2026. We look forward to working with the administration to achieve this goal as we strive to disrupt disparities and make the city a great place to live for New Yorkers of all ages.”