City Proposes $130M Housing Trust Fund

NEW YORK CITY-To create or preserve 4,500 affordable housing units over the next four years, the city has proposed creating a $130-million New York City Housing Trust Fund using revenues from the Battery Park City Authority. The fund would contribute an additional 3,000 units to the New Housing Marketplace commitment, raising the overall goal of the plan to 68,000 affordable units by 2008.

Twenty years ago, BPCA revenues were pledged to create housing for New Yorkers of all income levels. If approved, the fund will expand upon Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s New Market Housing Marketplace Plan, which provided $3 billion to fund the creation or preservation of 65,000 affordable housing units over five years.

The trust fund would provide subsidies to target income ranges in households earning below 30% of area median income and households earning between 60% and 80% of area median income. These subsidies could be used in conjunction with a variety of programs such as 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits to enhance HPD’s Mixed Income Rental Program and with the Housing Development Corp.’s New Housing Opportunities Program and Low Income Affordable Marketplace programs.