April 29, 2025

Good morning, Chair Sanchez, members of the committee, and all our partners that help make affordable housing possible in New York City. My name is Ahmed Tigani, and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with you today as the Acting Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.  

Thank you for inviting me here, and for allowing me to be joined by my team: the Deputy Commissioner of Housing Access and Stability, Meryl Block Weissman, and the Associate Commissioner of Housing Opportunity and Placement Services (HOPS), Emily Osgood. We are grateful for the chance to discuss one of the most powerful tools in HPD’s mission to expand access to affordable housing: the Housing Connect lottery. 

We talk to New Yorkers every day who are doing everything they can to stay in this city.  

• Some have only ever known this place as home.  
• People working one or two jobs to make ends meet  
• —single parents, frontline workers, retired New Yorkers on fixed incomes who helped shape the neighborhoods we love— 
• these residents are now seeking access to affordable housing opportunities that meet them where they are, at a cost they can afford, in a neighborhood they love.  

We hear from children that grew up in this city, returning home after college in search of new opportunity and families who want nothing more than a stable, affordable home where they can raise their children in peace.  

Today, we find ourselves at a moment of real urgency. With a frighteningly low vacancy rate of just: 1.4% for all apartments, 0.94% for apartments priced at $2,400, and less than 0.39% for homes at $1,100 – virtually zero for extremely low-income families.  

The housing crisis is not looming—it’s here. Rents continue to rise, while the demand for affordable homes far outpaces the supply. 

For too many New Yorkers, the process of securing housing feels like a full-time job in itself—complicated, slow, and filled with uncertainty. This is a moment that calls on all of us to move with urgency, clarity, and purpose. 

That’s why our work at HPD, especially within the Office of Housing Access and Stability, is focused on one clear goal: cutting through the red tape and getting people housed.  

We’re not just managing this Housing Connect system— 

• we’re breaking it down,  
• taking in and assessing feedback, and  
• rebuilding it to be faster, more responsive, and easier to navigate.  

This past fiscal year, we didn’t just talk about removing barriers—we did it.  

• We eliminated credit checks for voucher holders because families with rental assistance should not be blocked by barriers that were never even necessary.  
• We updated the Marketing Handbook, reducing paperwork, removing notarization requirements, easing documentation for federal benefit recipients, and making the process more accessible for people with disabilities.  

We’re even marketing smarter. In addition to requiring most new lotteries to advertise in newspapers and conduct outreach to local community-based organizations and elected officials,  

• HPD and HDC send email blasts to hundreds of thousands of active Housing Connect users whenever a new opportunity becomes available.  
• We also email applicants directly when there’s an update to their profile—whether it’s a reminder to submit documents, a status on an appeal, or a final determination—so they never miss a step in the process. 
• Our website also offers housing connect trainings, with short informative videos on how to apply to lotteries, set up an account, income eligibility, and more – along with a FAQ, answering New Yorkers’ most asked questions. 

We’re already seeing results from those changes. 

• In 2024, HPD helped more New Yorkers move into more affordable housing than ever before—14,654 households.  
• That’s over 14,000 second chances, new beginnings, and families finally able to exhale.  
• Of those, more than 10,000 secured homes through Housing Connect lotteries, and another 4,600 families moved out of shelter and into HPD homeless set-aside units. 
• In total, more than 300 affordable housing lotteries were advertised this year, opening up opportunities across the five boroughs. 
• And currently there are 31 rental opportunities available on housing connect, resulting in 2,675 units across the city.  

This work is also about keeping New Yorkers housed. That’s why we’ve expanded the programs and support systems that promote long-term stability.  

• We refreshed our Retention and Stabilization Services request for qualifications (RFQ) to support formerly homeless clients —if they choose—maintain a stable tenancy after moving into affordable housing  
• For families transitioning out of shelter, we’ve provided $2 million in essential furniture, helping them settle in with stability and dignity.  
• And with the council’s and NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)’s help, we’ve issued the Ready to Rent program, pairing free financial counseling with hands-on application support, so more New Yorkers can successfully navigate the process from the very beginning.  
• We also coordinate educational campaigns, trainings, and in-person events with The Department for the Aging (DFTA), The Department of Veteran Services (DVS), and other city agencies, to work hand in hand and share the most up to date information with our communities. 

Another key component of our outreach is the Housing Ambassador program—a network of about 50 trusted community-based organizations at over 60 locations across all five boroughs that work directly with New Yorkers to help them apply for affordable housing, maintain their Housing Connect profiles, and navigate the tenant selection process. Many of the Council Members here today represent districts with active Housing Ambassadors, and we’re grateful for your partnership in connecting residents to these important services.  

This on-the-ground work is further supported by HPD’s Housing Connect outreach team, which leads public-facing lottery presentations and workshops in partnership with community organizations and in collaboration with elected officials. In calendar year 2024 alone, this team helped coordinate nearly 80 events citywide, reaching more than 3,000 New Yorkers.  

For residents who need help at and outside of these events, our Housing Connect hotline offers another layer of support. Staffed by a dedicated team of 22 of incredible public servants, the hotline responds to over 10,000 calls annually. We also maintain a dedicated customer service email that fields hundreds of questions and complaints each week. Beyond this, HPD’s Division of Neighborhood Development & Stabilization, a part of HPD’s Office of Neighborhood Strategy who regularly interacts with communities, has a team focused on broader community engagement. They regularly attend citywide events and speaking engagements to represent HPD programs and respond to housing questions. 

But we also know there’s more work to do. We’re investing in the future of our systems,  starting with a full-scale overhaul of Housing Connect. We’re committed to making it faster, clearer, and easier to use. This work is already underway and will continue over the next year.

As part of that broader transformation, we’re carefully reviewing the legislation being considered today. 

Intro 1266 would require HPD to create an in-person Housing Connect assistance program in coordination with other agencies. We recognize the intent behind this bill and it’s something we believe in as well --to ensure New Yorkers can get the help they need navigating the affordable housing process. As mentioned before, we have a number of existing relationships with community organizations for out Housing Ambassador program. Plus, we recently launched a new Neighborhood Tech Help initiative, in partnership with public libraries, providing the kind of in-person support we believe the Council is seeking. From one-on-one digital guidance to multilingual application assistance and help with completed paper application, these programs are connecting New Yorkers to housing opportunities every day. We’d welcome the opportunity to discuss ways we can work with the Council on these efforts. 

Intro 1265, which proposes notifying applicants through Housing Connect and allowing them to designate a representative to receive updates, presents a really thoughtful opportunity. Whether it’s a daughter helping her mother, a caseworker supporting a client, or a friend assisting someone without regular internet access—this flexibility could make a real difference. We’d love to explore how we can build this out together as part of our Housing Connect redesign. Our preference is to shape this as a flexible, user-informed feature—something we can adapt and improve over time. We’re currently engaged in testing a set of new waivers and program processes and would like the opportunity to test and refine what works best for applicants. At this time, we would like to see this process continue before determining if legislation is needed.  

Intro 1264, which addresses how affordable housing units that become vacant are re-rented through the Housing Connect portal, touches on a process we are actively rethinking. We recently rolled out a new temporary update, the third update announced over the last few years to improve the process. Re-rentals will continue to be required to be posted publicly and accessibly but it will not be necessary to send through HPD’s housing connect system, though many may continue to do so voluntarily. This added flexibility is one example of ways we’re testing strategies to help fill units faster and reduce unnecessary paperwork. Over the next year, we plan to rebuild re-rentals, bring, using insights from this pilot, housing advocates, New Yorkers, building owner and marketing agents, and recommendations from the Council to guide that work. 

In closing, there’s still more to do.  

But we’ve seen what’s possible when we act quickly, listen closely, and stay focused on what matters. Thank you for your partnership and for holding us accountable to the New Yorkers we serve. Thank you to the New Yorkers who use our program every single day and provide us with feedback on how to make it better. I look forward to working with you to keep pushing this work forward. Thank you.