Mayor Eric Adams increased capital funding for housing by $5 billion over ten years in his fiscal year 2023 executive budget. While this does represent historic funding for housing, this increase is less than the Mayor promised and less than is needed. This new funding will bring total housing capital spending up to roughly $2.5 billion per year, far short of the $4 billion called for by United for Housing and supported by Eric Adams when he was a candidate for mayor.

The additional spending is split – $3.6 billion will go to HPD, $1.2 billion for NYCHA’s PACT program, and $200 million for NYCHA repairs at Gowanus and Wyckoff houses, the latter of which was agreed to by former Mayor Bill de Blasio as part of the Gowanus neighborhood rezoning. The Executive Budget Proposal commits to an increase of $5 billion over 10 years but only provides annual spending details through 2026.

City capital spending for HPD will increase an average of $350 million over the next four years compared to the previous plan, including new money for HPD and the NYCHA PACT funding. This uneven disbursement of the $5 billion means that we will see higher funding levels in years 6 through 10.

Capital spending for HPD from fiscal years 2022 – 2026 is as follows:

  • $2.5 billion for new construction of affordable housing
  • $1.8 billion to preserve existing affordable housing
  • $1.3 billion (supported by $128 million of Federal HOME funds) for senior and supportive housing through various Special Needs Housing loan programs
  • 1.5 billion for the conversion of approximately 62,000 units from traditional Section 9 public housing to Section 8 rental assistance vouchers through the PACT program by the end of 2026.
  • $263 million will rehabilitate City-owned housing units
  • $104 million for other housing investments

City capital spending for NYCHA mainly represents existing financial commitments secured by the Federal Monitor Agreement. City capital spending for NYCHA will increase a total of $200 million total over the next four years – accounting for the increased spending for Wyckoff and Gowanus houses. As mentioned the $1.2 billion supplementing PACT will pass through HPD’s budget.

Before the increase, the City budgeted $2 billion on average for HPD and NYCHA capital total per year. With the additional funding, total housing capital spending will be roughly $2.5 billion per year.

United for Housing, the coalition led by the New York Housing Conference with 90 organizations that developed consensus housing, called for the city to double housing investment to $4 billion per year.

While we are encouraged that Mayor Adams has increased housing spending at all, this is simply not enough to address the housing crisis and is far less than he promised on the campaign trail. Inflation and rising interest rates will absorb nearly all of the new capital budget for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). The 30 year fixed rate mortgage has increased to 5.11 percent, nearly double from a low of 2.65 percent early last year while multifamily residential construction costs have increased 7.8 percent over the past 12 months. The increased funding will likely result in the same number of new units already in the pipeline.

At NYCHA, the new money simply maintains the ongoing PACT program and funds a commitment made by the former mayor and will not repair or rehabilitate an additional home than was already planned. NYCHA has $40 billion in repair needs and the city and state need to step up and dedicate at least what advocates are calling for – $1.5 billion each per year.

The Mayor announced that he would be releasing his housing plan “in the coming weeks,” in May.

Check NYHC’s comments on the Mayor’s budget in the following publications:

The New York Times, Adams Offers Vision for N.Y.C. Recovery in ‘State of the City’ Speech
POLITICO, Amid specter of inflation and global uncertainty, Adams unveils $99.7B budget
Gothamist, Adams proposes nearly $100B budget, with added funding to social service programs, education and policing
Crain’s New York Business, Adams pledges $5B in additional affordable housing funding over next decade
New York Daily News, Mayor Adams unveils revised $99.7B budget beefing up social spending after NYC Council demands
Bloomberg, NYC Mayor Pins Revival on $99.7 Billion Plan With Less Covid Aid