State Provides $357M for Affordable Builds

NEW YORK CITY-Gov. David Paterson has been pro-active this year in his approach to improving and expanding housing opportunities across New York State. The Governor revealed Wednesday that $357 million in grants and financings have been provided to build and renovate 1,149 affordable housing units across New York State. Many of the units will be designed to be energy efficient and will include LEED green design and construction features and Energy Star appliances.

The approvals were made by the boards of the New York State Housing Finance Agency and its subsidiary, the New York State Affordable Housing Corp. Funding for second mortgages for several of these projects will come from the $304.2 million funding for New York State’s housing programs, which was approved in April by Gov. Paterson and the State Legislature as part of the Enacted Budget. At that time, according to a prepared statement, for nearly two decades, State funding for housing had failed to keep pace with inflation and since 2001 to 2002, in all but two budget years, the State’s investment in housing capital remained unchanged at approximately $105 million.

Gov. Paterson has also shown commitment to reducing New York’s carbon footprint. As GlobeSt.com reported earlier this week, the affordable condos being built on Atlantic Avenue in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, Brooklyn, will meet stringent LEED green-building standards, providing healthy, sustainable and energy-efficient homes.