Publications

The Every Nickel Counts Campaign is University Neighborhood Housing Program’s (UNHP) most recent effort to highlight critical issues that affect the operation and preservation of affordable housing and contribute to the increased financial distress in affordable multifamily housing. Decent, affordable housing for thousands of low-income New Yorkers is currently at risk. This campaign report offers recommendations that could improve the financial and physical conditions of affordable housing in the short and long term for both residents and operators of affordable housing. The recommendations arise from UNHP’s direct experience managing our own 1,216-unit portfolio, informed by our collaboration with a group of mission-driven for-profit and non-profit Bronx Building Operators who together oversee over 20,000 units.

Every Nickel Counts calls for:

• An increase in funding for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Multi-family Water Assistance Program to $100 million from $16.25 million, and doubling the amount per unit to $500.
• Making the one-year HPD waiver on re-rentals permanent based on the successful marketing of vacant apartments under the waiver to interested income-qualifying households in a compliant and timely manner.
• The revision of NYC’s Local Law 11 requirements to preserve the safety of buildings without putting the buildings in financial peril, including adjusting the reinspection schedule for compliant multifamily buildings from every 5 to every 8 years.
• The implementation of a comprehensive strategy to bring insurance costs in affordable housing under control that includes changes in lending, legislative, and judicial processes, coordination efforts by housing agencies to simplify insurance requirements, and provides immediate relief for affordable housing through an insurance
• Changes in punitive Con Ed practices around billing and “security deposits” in affordable housing by extending turnaround on payments to a minimum of net 30 days and eliminating shut-off notices for deposit demands and late payments of less than 60 days.
• Reform NYC real estate tax policies to incentivize high-density affordable housing and prioritize distressed affordable multifamily buildings in the use of J-51 and Article XI, 420-c programs.
• Create an Affordable Housing Stability Court as proposed by the New York Housing Conference to connect tenants in need with financial assistance and process cases more quickly.

See the downloadable file for the full report.