Views from the Northwest Bronx

Even as we marked our 30th anniversary in 2013, much of our work continues to address the lasting impact of redlining, disinvestment and speculation in the Bronx. In the past two years, UNHP has made significant strides in our work to identify and improve distressed multifamily housing and bring needed resources to the Northwest Bronx.

The New York State Department of Financial Services last week released the Final Guidelines for Bank Lending to Multifamily Properties Under the Community Reinvestment Act. UNHP welcomes these final guidelines to ensure that banks only receive credit for quality multifamily loans, and not just the overall quantity of loans.

From UNHP Executive Director, Jim Buckley: I went in person to deliver UNHP's testimony last week. While acknowledging that 3.35% was the lowest proposed increase in the past 9 years, we reminded them that rates have doubled in the past nine years; we also reminded them that $666, DEP's average per apartment charge for metered water use in apartment buildings, is well below the number we are seeing in our multi-family buildings in the Bronx. The water use in 1, 2 and 3 Bedroom units in our affordable housing projects regularly exceeds their average, with many of our buildings using the Multi-family Conservation Program (MCP), which will provide a cap of $976 per apartment per year.

​The City's proposal for 3.35% water and sewer rate increase will be the subject of the New York Water Board's public hearings over the next 10 days. We are urging you to make a comment, either in person or by email, to the Water Board, and copy the Mayor and your City Council person.

​Last month UNHP held its annual Multifamily Assistance Center and Building Indicator Project Lender meeting at the offices of Enterprise Community Partners. Two dozen of the top multifamily lenders in New York City participated, along with Commissioner Vicki Been and Deputy Commissioner Vito Mustaciuolo of the City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Earlier this fall, UNHP and a number of our partners met with all four bank regulators in the Empire State Building to talk about how to measure and evaluate multifamily lending practices when examining banks for both CRA and Safety and Soundness. Hosted by the FDIC and the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), the meeting highlighted the work of UNHP on both the Multifamily Assistance Center and the Building Indicator Project.

As part of our affordable housing mission, UNHP has lent $5.9 million in low-interest affordable housing loans, provided a range of assistance to 67 multifamily buildings and oversees the administration, management and maintenance of 24 buildings with over 1,000 units. Join UNHP board and staff for the UNHP building tour highlights.

UNHP celebrated its 30th Anniversary on October 3rd at the former Dollar Savings Bank on the Grand Concourse.

NYS Department of Financial Services recently issued Guidelines for Bank Lending to Multifamily Properties Under the Community Reinvestment Act that the Governor is also referring as Slumlord Prevention Guidelines for Multifamily lending.

The press has been buzzing lately with stories about both sides of the affordability crisis -- rising rents and falling wages. While this is a larger national trend, we are at the forefront of the crisis in the Bronx, and much of the press makes note of this. We took on this issue in our May report, Nowhere to Go: A crisis of affordability in the Bronx.