Dive Brief:
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New York City added more than 20,000 affordable housing units during the city’s 2015 fiscal year, the highest single-year gain in 25 years.
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That quantity of apartments could house 50,000 New Yorkers, according to the mayor’s office, which aims to create 200,000 homes for financially struggling city residents over 10 years.
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Included in the tally, which Mayor Bill De Blasio announced from a Bronx construction site, are 8,483 units under construction and 11,842 undergoing “preservation.” The bulk of the apartments — 14,116 — are designated for low-income residents earning between $38,851 and $62,150 a year, while others will house tenants with incomes ranging from “extremely low” to “middle.”
Dive Insight:
De Blasio’s next step is to reveal his plans for a mandatory affordable housing program, which will involve a new land use process in September. Under the program, developers will be required to build a minimum number of permanently affordable units. De Blasio is expected to announce that percentage in September.
Under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, that percentage was 20%, and the program was voluntary.
