New York announces new partnership to invest US$350 million in affordable housing

Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott Stringer have announced a partnership to establish a US$350 million fund to support affordable housing throughout New York City, marking a major investment in the administration’s historic plan to create and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing.

“This financing will mean more shovels in the ground and more New Yorkers protected from soaring rents,” said Mayor de Blasio. “We have set out the most ambitious affordable housing plan of any city in the nation, and we can say that’s a goal both the public and the private sector are putting their muscle behind. We’re in the midst of an affordability crisis that demands everyone work together as never before.”

This new funding will allow the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), a leading not-for-profit affordable housing and neighbourhood revitalisation lender, to provide lending capital to housing developers for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation and preservation of affordable housing across New York City and State. Leveraging more private financing to increase the supply of affordable housing is a pillar of the administration’s Housing New York plan, and the investment will foster the creation and preservation of an estimated 7,500 units of affordable housing statewide.

This capital was raised through the support of Citi, the New York City Retirement Systems, the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions, and marks a major renewal for CPC, allowing it to provide much-needed financing to create and preserve affordable, multi-family housing in New York. Additional participants in the facility include Deutsche Bank and Bank of America, among others.

“For the last three decades, the NYCRS have had a policy of investing in Economically Targeted Investments, which benefit low-, middle- and moderate-income New Yorkers,” said Scott Stringer, New York City Comptroller. “CPC’s new fund is expected to create at least 7,500 new affordable units, and will allow CPC to continue the valuable work they have engaged in since 1974.”