The first new law amends the Private Housing Finance Law (PHFL) to let the city provide low-interest loans for apartment construction on privately owned property, while the second new law authorizes the City to extend the benefit and eligibility periods for two tax abatement programs for eligible commercial properties.<P "This is critical for Downtown and for all of New York City," says Marolyn Davenport, REBNY senior vice president. "Thousands of housing has been created."

New York City's Participatory Loan program was established in the mid-1970s to reverse neighborhood deterioration by combining the City's low-interest capital loans with money from private lenders to rehabilitate housing.

This new law is a component of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's five-year, $3 billion plan to rehabilitate and construct 65,000 housing units in that it permits the Participatory Loan Program to be used for new construction as well as for rehabilitation.