New York Construction Report staff writer
More than 26,600 affordable homes were added to New York City through new construction and preservation deals in FY 2023 – a 22 percent increase over the prior year. That includes 12,278 homes that will be newly constructed, the second-highest number of new affordable homes funded in one year since tracking began in 1976. HPD alone increased their affordable housing production by 45 percent over FY22.
Several records were broken: HPD financed the highest number of supportive homes in city history, as well as the highest number of homes for New Yorkers who formerly experienced homelessness in a fiscal year since tracking began in 2014.
“Our city declared a housing emergency five decades ago, and five decades later, the problem is worse than ever,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “In the last fiscal year, we built more new supportive homes and homes for those New Yorkers formerly experiencing homelessness than any year in New York City history, connected more New Yorkers to permanent housing using CityFHEPS vouchers than any year in program history, and created and preserved 45 percent more homes than in the previous year.
“But without action from our partners in Albany, our historic progress will stall. A new and improved 421-a is crucial to getting new housing built, and this year, we’ve seen the way it makes a difference.”
Amid a crisis that has brought more than 95,000 asylum seekers to New York City and more than doubled the city’s shelter population in approximately a year to more than 107,000, extraordinary steps were taken and proved successful in connecting New Yorkers in the shelter system to permanent affordable housing and created more housing to serve the most vulnerable.
“Every new home created or financed is a step toward a more affordable New York City. The Department of City Planning is working every day to support new affordable housing in every neighborhood of the city, in conjunction with smart infrastructure and environmental investments,” said New York City Department of City Planning Director and City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick.
Despite rising housing costs due to increasing interest rates, inflation, construction costs, and insurance rates, HPD additionally financed the most homes for New Yorkers who formerly experienced homelessness since tracking began in 2014 with 3,574 homes now in progress. That figure represents 15 percent of the agency’s overall housing production – the highest share of total production since tracking began in 2014. HPD also produced more supportive housing than any year on record with 1,923 units now in progress, representing 8 percent of total production – also the highest share of total production since tracking began in 2014.
In FY23, 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.
