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NYCHA Contributes to NYC’s Record-breaking Year for Creating and Connecting New Yorkers to Affordable Housing

Michael

On August 3, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced landmark progress in the efforts to tackle the city’s affordable housing crisis and connect New Yorkers to safe, high-quality, affordable homes, thanks to the efforts of various City agencies, including NYCHA and its Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) initiative. In Fiscal Year 2023, the administration produced 26,682 affordable homes through new construction and preservation deals closed by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) – a 22 percent increase over the prior year.

“Our city declared a housing emergency five decades ago, and five decades later, the problem is worse than ever. That’s why my administration is doing everything to flip the script – speeding the production of affordable housing, preserving the housing stock we already have, and slashing red tape to get New Yorkers out of shelters and into permanent homes – and today, the data shows that we are succeeding,” said Mayor Adams.

“Since the start of this administration, we knew that addressing the housing crisis required two separate but interconnected strategies: improving how we connect New Yorkers to permanent housing and building a lot more housing,” said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. “I’m so proud of the records we’re setting, thanks to the hard work of HPD, HDC, NYCHA, and the NYC Department of Social Services (DSS). Our work is far from done – and we’ll continue pushing to ensure we’re using every tool we can to create new housing. New Yorkers cannot wait any longer.”

“The 26,682 homes financed last year represent a sign of New York City’s strong recovery and our administration’s commitment to New Yorkers in need of affordable housing,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. “Mayor Adams, HPD, HDC, NYCHA, and DSS, along with former Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz, broke administrative barriers to provide landmark support to tenants, those experiencing homelessness, and those who once did.”

“NYCHA’s public housing portfolio is a critical component of New York City’s affordable housing stock, and we remain committed to using every available tool to preserve it for future generations of New Yorkers,” said NYCHA CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “The successes of the PACT program are tried and true – enabling us to bring investment into our properties and enhance the conditions of our aging buildings to the direct benefit of the residents who live there.”

“Over the last several years, PACT has proven to be an important and effective solution for renovating public housing developments following decades of federal disinvestment,” said NYCHA Executive Vice President for Real Estate Development Jonathan Gouveia. “As the largest public housing authority in the U.S., NYCHA will continue to lead the way with this innovative program that delivers tangible results for residents across the five boroughs.” 

In line with Mayor Adams’ commitment to use every tool available to connect New Yorkers to affordable homes, the City continued to lead the nation in utilizing federal Emergency Housing Vouchers for households in need – HPD and NYCHA distributed all 7,788 allocated from the federal government since 2021, with 90 percent already being utilized to access permanent housing despite the extreme scarcity of available apartments.

The Adams administration is the first mayoral administration in New York City history to include public housing in its housing plan, and Mayor Adams’ commitment to NYCHA is evident in his groundbreaking efforts to create the Public Housing Preservation Trust. Earlier this week, Mayor Adams visited Nostrand Houses in Brooklyn to inform residents about their opportunity to be the first development to opt into the Trust.

At the same time, through the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) initiative, NYCHA has deployed a proven national program to protect aging homes for tens of thousands of public housing residents, while preserving affordability and maintaining strong tenant rights and protections. NYCHA plans to convert a total of 62,000 apartments through this program, which is subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and allows the Authority to continue to own the land and buildings.

In Fiscal Year 23, NYCHA converted 2,592 apartments to the Project-Based Section 8 program through the PACT program, representing $922 million in capital repairs for nearly 6,000 residents. To date, NYCHA has used the PACT program to convert 18,018 apartments at 62 developments, representing over $4.3 billion in capital repairs across the city. Another 19,691 apartments at 76 developments are in active planning and are slated for comprehensive repairs and upgrades.

Overall, over 37,000 apartments across 138 developments are in pre-development, under construction, or have completed renovations through the PACT program. This effort represents nearly $8 billion in building upgrades for public housing.

Photo credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office