March 22, 2023

PRESS CONTACT: press@hpd.nyc.gov

HPD’s Partners in Preservation program releases RFP to expand into priority areas citywide, investing $4 million annually

RFP seeks to identify tenant organizing groups to work on anti-displacement initiatives in areas at risk of rapidly losing affordable housing

NEW YORK – The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced today the agency is taking a critical step forward in its fight against tenant harassment, with the release of a request for proposals (RFP) to identify tenant organizing groups to expand, administer, and implement the Partners in Preservation program.

The Partners in Preservation program preserves rent-regulated housing units, a critical source of affordable housing for New York City tenants. More specifically, the program supports the work of tenant organizers who are well poised to effectively partner with HPD and protect tenants through the prevention of harassment, poor living conditions, and displacement. Building on the successes of the pilot program and recognizing the critical role that tenant organizing plays in affordable housing preservation and displacement prevention, HPD is now expanding the program into communities across the city as committed to in the City’s Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness.

“No New Yorker should be bullied or harassed out of their home,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Our administration is fighting for tenants every day, and this $4 million investment to expand a proven, successful program will help us fight even more effectively. Our neighbors and our city depend on it.”

“Tenant organizing has a long and storied history in New York City.  This expansion of Partners in Preservation beyond the pilot strengthens our efforts to support and improve communities,” said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “In neighborhoods across the city, from SoHo to Staten Island, tenant organizing is integral to any work we do for preservation, anti-displacement, and addressing tenant harassment. This is another step forward for the Housing Our Neighbors vision of collaborating with tenants in our overall effort to bolster affordability in New York City.”

“Fighting bad landlords, standing up for working New Yorkers, and protecting rent regulated apartments is not only our priority, it’s our mission,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrion. “Together with our tenant organizing partners throughout the City we are working to create a city where safe, stable and regulated housing is a reality for more New Yorkers.”

HPD is issuing this RFP to identify organizations to implement the expansion of the program. HPD anticipates selecting up to four contracts consisting of a prime contractor, who will manage the contract and oversee the overall implementation of the program while organizing tenants in their community, and one or more HPD-approved sub-contractors, who will also collaborate to organize and stabilize tenants in their respective communities. Anti-displacement initiatives, such as code enforcement, tenant organizing and education, legal representation, and affirmative litigation, are critical to stabilizing tenants and preserving affordable housing across the city.

HPD first launched Partners in Preservation as a pilot program in three communities in northern Manhattan and the Bronx in 2019. The pilot program brought together various City agencies, tenant organizing groups, and legal services providers in a collective effort to proactively address tenant harassment in rent-regulated buildings. By the end of the pilot program, tenant organizers in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx had:

• Canvassed 272 buildings, reaching over 3,000 units
• Organized 72 new tenant associations
• Held 117 tenant leadership workshops
• Developed 356 new tenant leaders and floor captains

HPD is working in partnership with the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit’s (PEU) Tenant Support Unit (TSU), the Department of Social Service’s Office of Civil Justice (OCJ), and other City and State agencies on the implementation of the expanded program and to work toward achieving the following goals:

1. Organized tenants are empowered to act collectively
2. Informed tenants know their rights
3. Improved living conditions and displacement prevention in organized buildings
4. Increased tenant organizing capacity and institutional support for partner organizations
5. More effective integration and coordination with City resources and responses to tenant harassment and displacement

The program will fund community-based organizations to develop and coordinate anti-displacement organizing strategies with tenants, local stakeholders, and government partners in select New York City neighborhoods in four Contract Areas: (1) Northern Manhattan; (2) the Bronx; (3) Central Brooklyn and the North Shore of Staten Island; and (4) North Queens, North Brooklyn, the Lower East Side, and SoHo-NoHo.

 “The Public Engagement Unit empowers tenants with information and resources through direct outreach, the Tenant Helpline, and more," said the Public Engagement Unit's Senior Outreach Director Karen Arshad. "Partners in Preservation is taking this work to new heights by improving the City's ability to protect New York City renters. We are proud to support this innovative program with proactive targeted outreach to serve communities right at their doorstep."

“This initiative exemplifies the City’s commitment to using every tool at our disposal to level the playing field for low-income communities at risk of displacement in an increasingly unaffordable city,” said Department of Social Services Acting Commissioner Molly Wasow Park. “Strengthening tenant protections alongside the creation and preservation of affordable housing is critical to addressing the citywide challenge of housing insecurity and homelessness. We are grateful to HPD and Commissioner Carrion for identifying creative solutions and empowering tenant advocacy organizations as part of this collaborative push to preserve rent-regulated buildings in New York City.”

In the proposals, RFP respondent teams should demonstrate extensive knowledge of the unique needs of rent-regulated tenants in the neighborhoods they intend to serve, an active history of tenant organizing on behalf of low-income New Yorkers, and the capacity to help HPD expand and establish Partners in Preservation as a critical tool preventing displacement and furthering housing preservation. HPD will work with each of the selected teams to customize the program to meet the diverse and unique needs of tenants across the city.

A Pre-Submission Conference will be held on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 1pm on Zoom. Proposals are due no later than 2:00pm on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. To learn more about the expanded Partners in Preservation program and submit a response to the RFP, visit the HPD website.