Funded Using Battery Park City Authority Revenues Last Year the Housing Trust Fund Financed Nearly 800 Affordable Units

 Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Shaun Donovan announced today that the City is releasing the second Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for financing of affordable housing using revenues from the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA). This year $30 million in BPCA funds will be distributed through the New York City Housing Trust Fund (HTF) administered by HPD.  The affordable housing created will be part of Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing over ten years. 

The Housing Trust Fund will be used to create or preserve 4,300 affordable housing units. The funding in this NOFA will be used for the new construction or substantial rehabilitation of developments targeting income groups which are currently the most difficult to reach, one of the three focuses of the Housing Trust Fund. During a three year period approximately $70 million of the $130 million HTF total will be used to subsidize projects that target hard–to-reach households, those whose earnings are either below, or above the incomes usually targeted by federal affordable housing subsidies. The $70 million will contribute towards the development of an estimated 2,000 apartments for these families. The first year of funding will produce 792 affordable rental and co-op units. 

“After a highly successful first year for the Housing Trust Fund we are again asking affordable housing developers to apply for funds,” said HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan. “Affordable housing is one of New York’s most pressing needs. The Housing Trust Fund is another example of how we are using new and innovative sources of funding to build and preserve affordable housing. New York City’s success in reducing crime, reforming our schools, and building our economy is creating a major new challenge: providing affordable housing for all those who want to share in that success. The Mayor’s $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan will provide homes for 500,000 New Yorkers over ten years, more than the entire population of Atlanta.”

In order to be eligible for funding consideration, proposed projects must include a minimum of 20% of units affordable to hard-to-reach households. HTF subsidy amounts will range from $20,000 to $50,000 per unit.   Hard-to-reach households are defined as those whose earnings are at or below 30% of area median income ($21,250 for a family of four or $14,900 for a single person), or between 61% and 80% of area median income ($43,250 to $56,700 for a family of four or $29,760 to 39,700 for a single person). Preference will be given to applicants that demonstrate project readiness, incorporate the most units affordable to hard-to-reach households with the least amount of subsidy, and commit to more than the required period of affordability. This year, for the first time, a preference will also be given to developments that incorporate sustainable design.

In the first year of the Housing Trust Fund nearly $25 million was awarded to fund 792 units of affordable housing from the Greenpoint Williamsburg waterfront to the North West Bronx. 162 units are affordable co-ops and 630 are affordable rental units.

Applications for the new NOFA will be accepted starting on November 19, 2007.  The application submission period will be open while funding is available.  Proposals will be reviewed by HPD. Funding will be awarded on a rolling basis based on application completeness, feasibility, and extent to which proposed projects meet the competitive criteria and threshold requirements. 

Electronic versions of the NOFA are available on HPD’s website and hard copies may be made available upon request.

Completed applications should be submitted by mail to:  NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, NYC Housing Trust Fund, 100 Gold Street, Room 9P-8, New York, NY 10038, or submitted electronically to dietzl@hpd.nyc.gov.

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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.