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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 231-07
July 5, 2007

MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES RECORD BREAKING YEAR FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN

Department of Housing Preservation and Development and Housing Development Corporation Finance Nearly 18,500 Units of Affordable Housing

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD ) Commissioner Shaun Donovan, and Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Emily Youssouf today announced that the City has once again surpassed its annual target for affordable housing, financing 18,472 units of affordable housing in the 2007 fiscal year that ended June 30th. This represents the highest production number of any year under the Mayor’s historic New Housing Marketplace Plan and is the greatest number of affordable units financed by the City since Mayor Koch’s housing plan. The City has funded nearly 83,000 affordable homes since Mayor Bloomberg took office in 2002, including 64,408 units funded under the New Housing Marketplace Plan. At a cost of $7.5 billion, the ten-year plan is the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation’s history.

“These numbers show that we are on track to reach our goal of creating enough affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers, more than the entire population of Atlanta,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “New York City is in the midst of an incredible residential construction boom that is building much-needed housing for our growing population. While we continue to foster private residential construction, we are also harnessing the strength of the market to spur the development of affordable housing for working New Yorkers who are vital to the City’s economic future. With nearly 65,000 units of affordable housing funded through the New Housing Marketplace Plan we are making great progress towards our ambitious affordable housing goals.”

When the New Housing Marketplace Plan began in July 2003 the Mayor set a goal of 65,000 units of affordable housing over five years. In February 2006, the Mayor more than doubled the plan’s goal to 165,000 units over ten years. Within the next few weeks the City will meet the original 65,000-unit goal, a year earlier than planned. So far the housing plan has financed the preservation of almost 40,000 affordable units and the new construction of almost 25,000 affordable homes. In the past two years (fiscal years 2006 and 2007) the City has financed 12,244 new units, more than twice the number financed in the highest two years of new housing production during the Koch administration (fiscal years 1989 and 1990).

“This year’s strong numbers show that the Mayor’s ambitious 165,000-unit target is attainable and we are making strong progress towards that goal. The nearly 83,000 affordable units funded under the Mayor’s term represent housing security for thousands of families and an opportunity for them to share in - and contribute to - our city’s success,” said HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan.  “As we prepare for a million more New Yorkers by 2030, we must ensure that we have the housing capacity for our growing city and that we create thousands of affordable and sustainable new homes.”

New York City’s population has grown by 900,000 people in the last two decades but in the 1990s the pace of housing construction did not create enough units to house the new New Yorkers. That gap between housing supply and demand has created an affordability crunch.  The gap has put the housing market out of balance, making housing more expensive for everyone and making it harder for people like police officers, firefighters and teachers to live here. Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC aims to help close the housing gap by providing homes for an additional one million New Yorkers by the year 2030.  The New Housing Marketplace Plan will ensure that a large share of those units are affordable.

The Housing Development Corporation has provided $6.1 billion in financing for affordable housing since the New Housing Marketplace Plan began, including $1.14 billion during the past 12 months. HDC’s financing comes from the private bond markets and from its own corporate reserves.

 “A key reason for the success of the plan is the numerous financing options that target a broad array of working New Yorkers,” said Emily A. Youssouf, President of HDC. “Tens of thousands of New Yorkers will benefit for years to come from the work we have done so far. The Mayor’s vision has had a transformative effect on the entire city.”







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser/ John Gallagher   (212) 788-2958



GENERAL CONTACT:

Neill Coleman   (Housing Preservation and Development)
(212) 863-8076

Aaron Donovan (HDC)   (212) 227-9496


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