The city Department of Housing Preservation and Development is mired in a significant staffing crisis that began in earnest when hiring freezes and decreased rehiring were implemented during the pandemic. Its staffing shortage is slowing down housing production, potentially fueling further exits from the agency, and delaying the delivery of much-needed affordable and supportive housing to New Yorkers. A new directive from Mayor Eric Adams instructs most city agencies, including HPD, to implement 3 percent budget cuts in FY22 and again in FY23 – a move that will only further hamper the agency and make housing policy less efficient.
Mayor Adams must exempt HPD from his budget cut directive and instead ramp up hiring in order to more effectively produce the robust supply of affordable housing New York City needs and deserves.
New York Housing Conference is releasing a policy brief explaining the extent of the staffing crisis with agency headcount data, how it is impacting the agency, and what the city needs to do to get HPD fully staffed.
Read the policy brief here.