Last month, Mayor Mamdani released his FY 2027 preliminary budget. The housing budget was mostly unchanged while his team develops his housing plan. NYHC testified about housing issues and needs at four City Council hearings.
Housing and Buildings Committee: NYHC testified highlighting three issues: ensuring sufficient capital resources for affordable housing production; the distressing CRISIS in affordable housing preservation; and the pressing need for reforms to improve efficiency in housing production. Read our testimony here.
Land Use Committee: NYHC called for an increase in staffing at DCP to better allow them to process applications and deliver neighborhood rezonings. A relatively small change in staffing will have exponential long-term benefits. One rezoning for example can add thousands of new units of housing. It is a small investment with a huge payoff in terms of creating housing, jobs and local economic stimulus, while planning for NYC’s future. Read our testimony here.
Committee on Environmental Protection and Waterfronts: We called on the City to expand the Multi-Family Water Assistance Program, including increasing funding for the program to $100 million to serve 200,000 apartments and increasing the per-apartment credit to $500. The current $250 credit has not increased since the start of the program over 10 years ago. And the program’s current budget only allows enough buildings to receive the benefit to cover 68,000 units, leaving the program over-subscribed and eligible properties are turned away. We want to thank UNHP for their ongoing leadership on this issue for over 30 years. Read our testimony here.
General Welfare Committee: We focused on boosting DSS staffing levels to prevent evictions and meet processing demands for rental assistance, one-shots and homeless set-aside referrals. Read our testimony here.
