HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan said, "I would like to thank the State of New York for giving credit authority to HPD to award Low Income Housing Tax Credits in New York City.  These tax credits generate thousands of units of affordable housing for low-income families, to help us realize the Mayor's New Housing Marketplace Plan.  The plan will create or preserve housing for half a million New Yorkers, more than the entire population of Atlanta.”

To be eligible for the Low Income Housing Tax Credits, developments must consist of substantial rehabilitation or new construction, with at least 20% of apartments reserved for low-income households.  During annual funding rounds, developers apply competitively to HPD for allocations of tax credits, which are awarded based on selection criteria specified in the City's Qualified Allocation Plan.

Over $6 million in credits will be used for the rehabilitation of some of the last remaining buildings taken by the City in tax foreclosure. From owning over 100,000 units of housing in the 1980s, the City has returned those buildings to private ownership and now owns fewer than 1,000 units.  Rehabilitated buildings funded through the tax credits will provide quality and affordable housing for new and existing tenants. 

For example:

• In the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, credits will be used to rehabilitate the Cooper and Decatur cluster of eight buildings.  The project, sponsored by Direct Building Management, will provide 47 units of rehabilitated housing including 35 affordable units. Tax Credits will help keep rents affordable for the families already living in the buildings. 
• In Manhattan, three buildings in the 146^th street area are being rehabilitated by NY Residential Works Inc, to create a total of 39 units.  The completed buildings will house residents with a mix of incomes, including 29 units of affordable housing.
• In the Melrose section of the South Bronx, Low Income Housing Tax Credits will be used to create an operating reserve to ensure financial feasibility for four buildings in the Union Avenue cluster.  The buildings are being rehabilitated by Innovative Property Management & Dev. Inc, to provide 47 units of housing including 35 units of affordable housing. 

As part of the 2007 funding round, HPD established a special set-aside of $3.375 million, for new construction or substantial rehabilitation of permanent supportive housing projects with HPD approved on-site services for homeless single adults.  Supportive housing is subsidized permanent housing with social services. Six developments received awards under the set-aside.  All of the units developed under the set-aside will be low-income and a minimum of 60% of the units will be reserved for formerly homeless individuals. 

For example:

• At the Grand Avenue Residence in the Bronx, low Income Housing Tax Credits will be used to provide housing for 56 affordable units including residences for 34 formerly homeless persons with mental illness.  Geel Community Services, Inc, the project sponsor, will provide services for the residents of the building, including housing retention, mental health, independent living, case management, counseling and other services as needed.

Since 1988, to fulfill its commitment to affordable housing, HPD has allocated $180 million in competitive credits, generating $1 billion in private equity contributions.  This has created more than 28,000 units of quality affordable housing.  In the past 14 years, HPD has also processed applications for more than $120 million in "as-of-right" credits for 180 tax-exempt bond financed projects, creating almost 17,000 affordable housing units.

Click here for a full list of the awardees and locations of the housing

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development's (HPD) mission is to promote quality housing and viable neighborhoods for New Yorkers. The department is the nation’s largest municipal housing development agency and is implementing Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing over ten years. The New Housing Marketplace Plan is the largest municipal affordable housing effort in the nation’s history. As part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC HPD is working to create homes for almost a million more New Yorkers by 2030 while making housing more affordable and sustainable.  HPD also encourages the preservation of affordable housing through education, outreach, loan programs and enforcement of housing quality standards.

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