Statement From Source Document Poa
HPD will monitor units already rent-restricted through regulatory agreements with government agencies. HPD will reach out to owners with any such regulatory agreements that are near the end of their affordability period to let them know about the financial incentives HPD can provide to preserve affordability.
On an annual basis, HPD will provide reports to the Council Member of all units with regulatory agreements expiring in the next five years to ensure careful monitoring.
HPD is also working to identify opportunities to protect the affordability of buildings that are not currently regulated. With the help of its new Community Partnerships unit, HPD is taking a much more proactive and strategic approach than ever before to target building owners who could benefit from HPD's financing and tax incentives in exchange for agreeing to maintain the affordability of their units. Many owners are either not aware of HPD's products or feel uncomfortable working with a public agency, but HPD is trying to better serve those owners.
Narrative
Between April 2016 and March 2017, HPD financed the preservation of 322 affordable homes in Brooklyn Community District 5, 144 of which serve households earning extremely low and very low incomes (less than 50% of AMI). These buildings are undergoing various repairs and rehabilitation work, including kitchen and bathroom upgrades, energy efficiency retrofits, façade improvements, and more. HPD continues to work with property owners in East New York with regulatory agreements that may be expiring, and proactively reaches out to building owners who could benefit from HPD's loan programs and tax benefits to make repairs and preserve affordability. Between April 2016 and March 2017, this outreach included events, mailings, emails, and calls to owners of physically distressed properties, owners of HUD 202 buildings, owners with expiring or recently expired J51 tax benefits, owners of Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties, and owners of buildings on or at risk of being on the tax lien sale. These targeted efforts reached 293 multifamily buildings in Brooklyn Community District 5 with a total of more than 3,000 rental units. Going forward, HPD will schedule annual meetings with Council Member Espinal to discuss recent preservation activities and opportunities in East New York. HPD, in partnership with Enterprise Community Partners, will pilot a Landlord Ambassadors Program to contract with community-based organizations to conduct outreach and help private multifamily building owners with navigate HPD financing programs and access resources needed to close on, construct, and operate their properties. HPD has selected Mutual Housing Association of New York (MHANY) as the nonprofit contractor to serve the Central/East Brooklyn area, including East New York. Lastly, with support from the City, the NYU Furman Center has created CoreData.nyc, a new tool to enable community organizations, residents, and elected officials to find information on government subsidized housing, including projected expiration of affordability restrictions. This resource facilitates improved coordination between the City and elected officials on extending the affordability of these properties.