All-time high: 24,536 affordable homes financed in 2017, nearly half for families living on less than $43,000; number of homes in the City’s affordable housing lottery doubles
Apply for affordable housing, fight eviction or freeze your rent with 311 or at nyc.gov/LongLiveNY
Mayor de Blasio today announced that his administration financed more than 24,536 affordable homes last year, breaking an all-time record previously set by former Mayor Ed Koch in 1989. Nearly half of those homes – 48 percent – serve people making less than $33,400 per year, or $43,000 for a family of three.
The Mayor marked the milestone by joining 79 year-old Jasper Hurst as he signed a lease for his affordable apartment at the brand new Cypress Hills Senior Residences, where more than 50 tenants are moving in this month. The building was part of a major wave of construction financed early in the de Blasio administration that is now renting up. The City’s housing lottery posted a record 5,300 affordable apartments in 2017, more than double the 2,500 posted in 2014.
To help New Yorkers access these new opportunities, the City is increasing outreach, launching a new housing web portal today at nyc.gov/LongLiveNY, as well as new ads to direct tenants to resources to help apply for affordable housing, fight eviction, and freeze their rent.
“Housing is the number one expense in New Yorkers’ lives. We’re bringing that expense down by putting shovels in the ground, and putting keys in tenants’ hands. There is more help than ever to fight eviction, freeze your rent or find an affordable home – and we want New Yorkers to reach it,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Released in October, the City’s updated Housing New York 2.0 plan offers a suite of new programs, partnerships, and strategies to help finance 300,000 affordable homes – 100,000 more than initially planned – so that more families and seniors can afford their rent or buy their first home.
The City has financed 87,557 affordable apartments in the past four years. The total direct City investment under the Mayor’s housing plan so far is $3.3 billion, and the total bond financing issued by the Housing Development Corporation is over $6.2 billion. In 2017 alone, New York preserved 17,359 affordable apartments and financed 7,177 new homes. This represents a direct City investment of $1.1 billion, leveraging more than $1.4 billion in bonds.
More Help Reaching New Yorkers:
148,000 New Yorkers live in apartments that have had long-term affordable rents protectedthrough the City’s preservation programs since 2014.
180,000 New Yorkers have benefited from free legal services provided through City programsto stop eviction, harassment or displacement since 2014. Evictions are down 24 percent.
60,000 seniors are now enrolled in the SCRIE rent freeze program, up from 50,800 in 2015, and more than 13,300 New Yorkers with disabilities are enrolled in the DRIE rent freeze program, compared to 9,100 two years ago.
The Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit has proactively made over 280,000 door knocks and phone calls to New Yorkers to make sure they know their rights and are helped through repairs, legal services and rental assistance enrollment.
5,300 affordable apartments hit the City’s Housing Connect lottery in 2017, double the number four years ago.
The City has made it easier to apply for an affordable apartment by letting users search Housing Connect lotteries by borough, income level, and household size. The City’s Housing Connect guides offer guidance throughout the application process and are available in up to 17 languages. The City launched the Ready to Rent program that pairs free financial counseling with application assistance for New Yorker’s seeking affordable housing.
HPD’s M/WBE Build Up Program spurred 42 projects with 6,890 affordable homes in 2017. They are expected to generate over $177 million in spending. In addition, HPD financed 52 projects, with 8,774 affordable homes, that require developers to participation in City’s HireNYC.
139 City-owned sites have been put to use in projects that will generate 9,500 affordable homes.
Affordable housing numbers are available HERE.
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