Mayor Adams Outlines Blueprint for 'Housing our Neighbors' Plan to get New Yorkers Into Safe, High-Quality, Affordable Homes

June 14, 2022

Video available at: https://youtu.be/0AV4kIn1l8c

Crafted With Insight From New Yorkers Who Experienced Homelessness, Blueprint Focuses Not Just on Creating Homes but Also on Getting New Yorkers Into Them More Quickly

First City Housing Plan to Cover Entire Spectrum of New Yorkers' Housing Needs and Options — Including City-Subsidized Affordable Housing, Public Housing, Private Market-Rate Housing, and Greater Supports for Homelessness

Blueprint Outlines Bold Plans to Accelerate Creation of Supportive Housing, Transform How Services Are Delivered at NYCHA, and End Practices that Retraumatize Families

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released 'Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness,' his comprehensive blueprint to tackle New York City's affordable housing crisis and get New Yorkers in the safe, high-quality, affordable homes they deserve. Crafted in direct collaboration and coordination with New Yorkers who have experienced homelessness, Mayor Adams' plan represents the first city housing plan to build on the creation and preservation of affordable housing with transformative reforms for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) as well as the elimination of paperwork and processes that retraumatize New Yorkers and families as they find a home they can afford.

"Today is a new day for housing in New York City," said Mayor Adams. "Safe, stable, and affordable housing cannot be a privilege — it is fundamental to my vision for a prosperous, inclusive city. We spoke with and listened to New Yorkers who have been impacted by the housing crisis in our city, and today we are delivering the most comprehensive plan in New York City's history."

The blueprint is the result of an extensive stakeholder, industry, and community engagement process, which, for the first time, included direct engagement with New Yorkers who are experiencing or having experienced homelessness, and outlines major steps the Adams administration will take to:

• Significantly expand affordable homeownership opportunities and help communities build and maintain wealth;
• Accelerate the creation of supportive housing by completing the 15,000 supportive homes promised by 2030 two years ahead of schedule;
• Transform NYCHA by both delivering much-needed resources for repairs and improving and streamlining the services NYCHA provides residents and the processes by which they do so;
• Break down government siloes to bolster transparency and address the full scope of the homelessness crisis, adding to the city's homeless count while creating a more even playing field to give more New Yorkers in all the city's shelter systems access to critical services and resources; and
• Get New Yorkers into safe, high-quality, affordable homes faster and without forcing them to relive past trauma by eliminating unnecessary paperwork and obstacles to obtaining housing.

"Housing is the basis for everything we are trying to achieve, from helping children succeed in school to building safer communities and a more equitable city," said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. "This is an incredible moment where we can rebuild in a more intentional, people-centric way that helps New Yorkers access the housing and services they need faster. This starts with measuring how quickly we move people into homes and how many New Yorkers we house — that is our priority, housing New Yorkers, and this plan reflects that. By including NYCHA and homelessness for the first time ever, we are elevating directly impacted New Yorkers into the heart of our housing strategies to ensure that everyone finally receives the safe, stable, and affordable housing they and their families deserve. This blueprint will help us get there."

"The housing blueprint released today represents a true team effort led by our Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz to work across agencies to help all New Yorkers access safe and affordable housing," said First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo. "We have already begun progress on many of these initiatives and look forward to continuing to roll out this plan."

"Today's announcement sets forth a plan and builds upon the work already underway to help find every New Yorker a permanent home," said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. "Whether you are experiencing homelessness or struggling to keep and afford your home, today's plan puts supports in place for you. Thank you to the mayor for his steadfast commitment to this issue, to Jessica Katz and her team, and to all the advocates that have worked with and continue to work with the administration to make this plan responsive to the community. I look forward to continuing to work together to put this plan into practice."

"The pandemic has made clear that access to safe, accessible housing is inextricably linked to health outcomes, economic opportunity, and the resiliency of our city as a whole," said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. "Addressing our housing crisis is essential to my economic and workforce development agenda and our collective mission for a more equitable New York City. I am proud to work closely with Chief Housing Officer Katz and all partners involved to implement our blueprint for housing and homelessness."

"The mayor's housing blueprint is a transformative step forward in addressing the housing crisis facing New York City," said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Sheena Wright. "This comprehensive blueprint is a roadmap to solutions that address the most pressing housing issues facing our city. Together, this administration developed a holistic, innovative housing plan that meets the urgency of the moment."

"All New Yorkers deserve to feel safe and secure in their homes. The housing blueprint assures New Yorkers that their housing will be affordable, safe, accessible, and resilient," said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. "I look forward to working with our leaders as they bring safer, healthier, and more resilient homes to the city."

The blueprint rests on five key pillars:

• Transforming NYCHA,
• Addressing Homelessness and Housing Instability,
• Creating and Preserving Affordable Housing,
• Improving the Health and Safety of New Yorkers, and
• Reducing Administrative Burden.

'Housing Our Neighbors' represents the Adams administration's strategy to tackle the housing shortage at the root of our city's affordable housing crisis. According to the 2021 Housing and Vacancy Survey initial findings, only 4.5 percent of the city's housing supply currently sits vacant, with less than 1 percent of homes available for rent at below $1,500 per month currently available. A New Yorker making the city's median income would need to earn twice as much to afford the median asking rent of $2,750, and the level of rent burden and severe rent burden have remained stubbornly high since 2011. Additionally, half of the city's renting households spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent, and one in three of those households spent over half of their income on rent.

Mayor Adams' housing blueprint builds on the city's Fiscal Year 2023 adopted budget, which includes $5 billion in new capital funding for affordable housing, bringing the administration's planned investment in affordable housing to $22 billion — the largest in the city's history. Earlier this month, Mayor Adams also laid out his plan to make New York City a 'City of Yes!,' with three citywide zoning reforms, including one that will help tackle the city's housing shortage and create affordable housing.

"If you're a working person, a voucher holder, a 311 caller, a family or individual experiencing homelessness, or a homeowner, city services should be streamlined to help you access what you need. This unified housing blueprint aims to do just that," said New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. "As we redouble our commitment to create and preserve sorely needed affordable housing, and promote safe, sustainable, and resilient homes, we are now doing it in close coordination with our partner agencies and centered on customer service."

"The housing blueprint represents a united effort to reexamine how we address some of our city's most complex challenges — including transforming and preserving NYCHA, increasing and improving our affordable housing supply, and combating homelessness and housing instability," said New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Eric Enderlin. "HDC is proud to join the administration in providing holistic and innovative solutions to strengthen our city and create more opportunities for New Yorkers."

"Mayor Adams and Chief Housing Officer Katz have crafted a trailblazing housing plan that puts NYCHA residents first and embraces unprecedented possibilities for the authority moving forward," said NYCHA Chair and CEO Gregory Russ. "NYCHA is profoundly grateful for the support of the Adams administration and will continue to use all the tools at our disposal, including the Public Housing Preservation Trust, to improve the quality of life for residents and ensure safe, quality housing for generations to come."

"Homelessness is a housing problem — and at the Department of Social Services (DSS), we are proud to work in tandem with our sibling agencies to solve the housing crisis facing the city," said DSS Commissioner Gary P. Jenkins. "Improving services across our shelter system will help us achieve our overall goal of long-term housing stability for our clients. Additionally, investing in affordable housing and tenant protections will prevent so many of our vulnerable New Yorkers from entering our shelter system. I am so proud to be a part of an administration that is focused on addressing both the symptoms and the root causes of the housing problem in our city, because all New Yorkers deserve a safe and secure place to call their home."

"The mayor's housing plan is laser-focused on meeting the urgent housing needs of New Yorkers — young families, single adults, seniors, everyone," said City Planning Commission Chair and Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick. "We think of New York as the ultimate inclusive city — let's act like it and bring new homes at all income levels to all of our communities."

"Housing our neighbors is critical to the success and safety of our city," said New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Acting Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. "Through greater cooperation as outlined in the mayor's executive order earlier this year, FDNY will work closely with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development — and all city agencies — to do our part to ensure that new, safe housing is created for New Yorkers."

"Mayor Adams is committed to tackling New York City's housing crisis and improving services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness," said New York City Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Andrew Kimball. "The housing blueprint paves the way towards helping our most vulnerable New Yorkers. Access to safe and affordable housing is central to creating an equitable and resilient economy."

"Safe, dignified, affordable, and supportive housing is not only a basic human right, it's a fundamental pillar of health," said New York City Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. "Making comfortable, affordable housing more accessible to New Yorkers will add years and improve the quality of their lives and have measurable impacts on illness and costs of care. A solid, unified plan that addresses both housing and homelessness is a transformative step toward better health for our city."

"NYC Health + Hospitals recognizes that the continuum of care extends past our hospital walls, and we know that stable housing is critical to our patients' health and well-being," said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. "As the hospital system that serves every New Yorker, no matter their ability to pay or immigration status, NYC Health + Hospitals serves more than 50,000 patients experiencing homelessness or lacking stable housing, which makes us uniquely positioned to connect patients to respite care beds, affordable and supportive housing, and other critical supports. Attaining permanent housing saves lives, improves health outcomes, and reduces reliance on expensive emergency health care and in-patient resources."

"We must reduce harmful emissions from all sectors of our economy in order to avert a climate disaster, and this blueprint smartly focuses on decarbonization of our housing stock," said New York City Chief Climate Officer Rohit T. Aggarwala. "Thank you to Mayor Adams and Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz, we look forward to putting this blueprint into action."

Transforming NYCHA

With NYCHA developments in need of comprehensive repair work estimated to cost $40 billion, this plan goes beyond the work NYCHA has undertaken in recent years, as mandated in its federal agreement. Mayor Adams' blueprint specifically provides short-term quality-of-life improvements, long-term stabilization of the authority through the NYCHA Public Housing Preservation Trust and the Rental Assistance Demonstration-Permanent Affordability Commitment Together program, and centers NYCHA residents in decision-making processes.

Under this blueprint, the Adams administration will:

• Leverage new partners and resources to address NYCHA's capital needs,
• Amplify resident voices in decision-making, and
• Invest in the health and safety of NYCHA residents.

Addressing Homelessness and Housing Instability

New Yorkers experiencing homelessness deserve both immediate changes that improve the care they receive right now and a viable path to long-term affordable or supportive housing. At the same time, we cannot wait until a New Yorker is living on the street to provide support — we must act to prevent evictions and keep New Yorkers in their homes.

Under this blueprint, the administration will:

• Break down government silos to better measure and address homelessness,
• Combat housing instability to help New Yorkers stay housed,
• Improves shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness,
• Help New Yorkers in shelter move into permanent housing faster, and
• Reduce the risk of returning to shelter.

Creating and Preserving Affordable Housing

Mayor Adams' total $22 billion capital commitment represents the largest city investment in housing in New York City's history, allowing the city to accelerate the creation of supportive housing and continue the current pace of affordable housing production, despite rising inflation and interest rates.

Under this blueprint, the administration will:

• Accelerate and increase capacity for new housing supply citywide;
• Increase access to economic opportunity, transit, and amenities for low-income New Yorkers;
• Meet the housing needs of seniors and people with disabilities;
• Expand tools to preserve existing low-cost and affordable housing;
• Help communities build and maintain wealth through housing;
• Promote housing stability for renters; and
• Provide inclusive development opportunities for equitable growth.

Improving the Health and Safety of New Yorkers

All New Yorkers deserve the dignity that comes with a home that is not only affordable but also safe and healthy. Recognizing the connection between housing conditions, climate risk, and health outcomes, the Adams administration is committed to safe, high-quality, affordable housing.

Under this blueprint, the administration will:

• Improve housing quality to ensure safe and healthy living conditions,
• Keep New Yorkers safe in their homes in a changing climate, and
• Create more sustainable and healthy homes.

Reducing Administrative Burden

The Adams administration recognizes that those most in need of government support disproportionately bear the burden of bureaucracy and dysfunction, which both delay services and force families to relive the trauma they may have experienced in the past. Streamlining our processes for accessing government assistance and available resources will allow the city to respond to the city's affordable housing crisis with the urgency it demands and save New Yorkers from additional pain of waiting for services and the process of accessing them.

Under this blueprint, the administration will:

• Eliminate the absent parent form,
• Overhaul Section 8 technology at HPD,
• Move the NYCHA Section 8 briefing online,
• Modify the use of psychiatric evaluations in supportive housing,
• Implement a back-end audit for income verification in the affordable housing lottery,
• Revamp the Mayor's Management Report to include more people-focused metrics,
• Evaluate the administrative burden of social safety net programs related to housing, and
• Advocate for changes to state and federal rules to reform housing placements.

"Our city's future depends on keeping New Yorkers in safe, healthy, and resilient homes, even as the climate changes," said Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Executive Director Kizzy Charles-Guzman. "The housing blueprint will ensure that the building blocks of our communities are on a pathway to meet our ambitious sustainability goals, while safeguarding affordability and strengthening neighborhoods for this and future generations."

"Safe, resilient, affordable housing is central to our well-being and economic security. The housing blueprint is a tremendous step forward in addressing the diverse housing needs of New Yorkers," said Mayor's Office of Equity Commissioner Sideya Sherman. "From increasing opportunities for affordable homeownership to investing in NYCHA communities, this plan meets the urgency of our city's housing crisis with people-centered strategies that cut across this administration. I look forward to collaborating on the work ahead to achieve these critical goals."

"We know that domestic and gender-based violence are leading causes of homelessness and that the pandemic exacerbated survivors' need for emergency housing and related financial assistance," said Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence Commissioner Cecile Noel. "We are excited the city is expanding low-barrier and flexible funding for survivors through its housing blueprint to help survivors and their families build safety and stability."

"All New Yorkers deserve safe and affordable housing, regardless of their immigration status, which is why our office has partnered with colleagues working on housing issues in our administration to ensure immigrants are included in this plan," said Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro. "The housing blueprint is a step forward to ensure our immigrant communities, including newly arrived migrants, access housing stability. I look forward to working with our sister agencies and community groups to understand the housing needs of all immigrant New Yorkers and how the city can best address them."