April 29, 2021

Creating Opportunities for M/WBE Developers

We've released the M/WBE RFP Round 2 to transform two City-owned sites in Prospect Heights into 100% affordable housing! This will lead to 180 new affordable homes primarily serving low-income families and seniors, only steps from Downtown Brooklyn.

This RFP is the second issued exclusively for M/WBE developers through HPD’s Building Opportunity Initiative as part of this Administration’s goal to create opportunities and address disparities for minority- and women-owned developers. Interested developers can download the RFP here.

Helping Property Owners Get Ahead of Lead

There have been several updates to the City’s lead requirements, with more underway, and HPD has been raising awareness with property owners via email, webinars, and more to help them stay on top of their responsibilities to keep kids safe from lead poisoning. Some of the changes include:

• As of February 2021, Local Law 1 of 2004 now applies to tenant-occupied, one- and two-unit buildings. Landlords of these buildings must identify and remediate lead-based paint hazards in the apartments where there is a young child, using trained workers and safe work practices. Before a new tenant moves in, owners of buildings built before 1960 (and buildings where the owner has knowledge of lead-based paint) are required to remediate lead-based hazards using safe work practices. HPD will soon be enforcing the turnover requirement during all inspections where a child under six resides.
• The clearance levels for dust wipes are again being reduced as per Local Law 1. Samples taken on/after June 1, 2021, must not exceed the following levels: 5 micrograms of lead per square foot on floors, 40 micrograms of lead/sq ft on window sills, and 100 micrograms of lead/sq ft on window wells.
• As part of the campaign, HPD is also raising awareness of available resources such as the Hazard Reduction and Healthy Homes Program, which offers federally-funded grants to help homeowners address lead paint hazards and prevent lead poisoning — especially in young children. HPD Housing Hero Wataru recently connected one family to a grant through the program. Read his story here.

Facilitating Accessible Design

Housing must be designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities. HPD recently released a new Accessibility Guide for the City’s affordable housing to ensure developers comply with all of the applicable rules and regulations mandated at the city, state, and federal levels. Tomorrow, April 30, from 9:00AM - 3:30PM, we’re holding a webinar with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and the United Spinal Association to walk through the guide and other important accessibility updates.

Learn more about our high bar for affordable housing design in our interview with Rona Reodica, Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Building and Land Development Services.

Rolling Up Our Sleeves

HPD staff are getting vaccinated as more of us work towards returning to the office. Read more about why we’re getting vaccinated here.

If you’ve been waiting to get vaccinated against COVID-19, now is a great time. There are a ton of appointments available across NYC right now. Head to nyc.gov/vaccinefinder to book yours today or visit a walk-up site near you.

Louise Carroll
HPD Commissioner