Five Months After Announcing Bold Executive Action on Housing, Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on Progress Toward Increasing Housing Supply Across New York
Program to Accelerate Housing Development in Gowanus Has Received 19 Applications – Which Could Yield Up to 5,500 Units of Housing, Including Affordable Housing
Governor Continues to Drive Effort to Convert State-Owned Sites Into Housing – Including Proposal to Transform Former Lincoln Correctional Facility Into 105-Unit Development and Plan to Unlock More Than 2,800 Units of Housing at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
Governor Today Announcing Financing to Build and Preserve More Than 1,500 Homes Across New York
Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on progress achieved through the Executive Actions she announced five months ago today to address New York’s housing crisis and increase the housing supply. Governor Hochul also announced more than $430 million in bonds and subsidies to help expand the housing supply, creating more than 1,500 homes across New York.
“The lack of housing in New York is an urgent crisis, and we can’t afford to wait for legislative solutions,” Governor Hochul said. “Five months ago today, I took Executive Action to promote housing growth, and we’re making real progress to increase the housing supply across New York. Until the Legislature is ready to come back to the table with a real plan to increase housing supply, I’ll continue fighting for New Yorkers using every tool I have as Governor.”
Gowanus Housing Growth
As part of a package of Executive Actions to promote housing growth, Governor Hochul announced a program aimed at targeting specific benefits and housing obligations in line with the now-expired 421-a program for development proposals currently vested in the expired program in the Gowanus neighborhood in Brooklyn. The program, which is being overseen by Empire State Development, has since received 19 applications for 19 individual project sites, which could yield up to 5,500 total units, including up to 1,400 affordable units. ESD will announce project approvals by Summer 2024.
Repurposing State-Owned Land for Housing
Governor Hochul’s package of Executive Actions also included a mandate directing all State entities to review lands in their ownership and control to determine whether the sites could be used either for housing development or to support nearby housing developments. Since issuing the mandate, the Governor unveiled a proposal to transform the former Lincoln Correctional Facility in Manhattan into a mixed-use development with 105 units of housing, as well as the Creedmoor Community Master Plan to reimagine the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Eastern Queens as a vibrant community with more than 2,800 units of housing.
The Governor has also issued requests for proposals to redevelop the former Bayview Correctional Facility in Manhattan and the former Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill with an emphasis on housing.
New Financing for More Than 1,500 Homes
Governor Hochul also announced that over $433 million has been allocated through bonds and subsidies to create or preserve 1,530 homes across New York State, including affordable, supportive, and sustainable housing. This investment will expand and protect the housing supply across ten developments in New York City, the Hudson Valley, the Southern Tier, and Western New York. Projects include conversion of the JFK Hilton Hotel in Queens into 318 affordable supportive homes, New York’s first hotel conversion project through the State’s innovative Housing Our Neighbors With Dignity Act which allows underutilized commercial and hotel space to be converted to residential use.
The financing is allocated through New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s December 2023 bond issuance which provided $131 million in tax-exempt housing bonds and $302 million in subsidy. Four of the awarded projects will use $6 million from the Clean Energy Initiative to achieve even higher levels of sustainability and carbon reduction. When coupled with additional private funding and resources, the projects receiving funding are expected to create nearly $800 million in overall investment.
Projects include:
New York City
$47 million for the acquisition and adaptive reuse of the JFK Hilton Hotel to create 318 homes in Queens. The JFK Hilton Hotel will be converted into Baisely Pond Residences, a development with 318 apartments, including 191 with supportive services for individuals experiencing homelessness. Baisely Pond Residences is being co-developed by the Slate Property Group and RiseBoro Community Partnership.
$128 million for the construction of 322 homes at Utica Crescent in Brooklyn. Part of the State’s Vital Brooklyn Initiative project, Utica Crescent will be a newly constructed multi-use facility, consisting of two connected towers being developed at a former parking lot in East Flatbush. Eighty-nine apartments will be set aside for seniors receiving supportive services from Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services. The highly energy-efficient development will also include space for a grocery store, medical facility, and other community services. Utica Crescent is being co-developed by Monadnock Development and CB Emmanuel Realty.
$57 million for the construction of 109 homes at the Marcus Garvey Extension development in Brooklyn. The project entails the new construction of an eight-story building on an underutilized parking lot at the existing Marcus Garvey Apartments. Fifty-five apartments will be set aside for chronically homeless adults and families, who will receive supportive services from Services for the UnderServed. This phase of the Marcus Garvey Extension development is being co-developed by L+M Development Partners and Services for the UnderServed.
$51 million for the preservation of 139 homes at 753 Classon Avenue in Brooklyn. The project will substantially rehabilitate the interior and exterior of a 13-story Mitchell Lama development in Crown Heights, extending the useful life and increasing the energy efficiency of the 55-year-old building. 753 Classon Avenue is being developed by Smith & Henzy Affordable Group.
Mid-Hudson
$15 million for the rehabilitation of Cornerstone Residence to preserve 128 homes in Newburgh. The rehabilitation work will significantly upgrade the four-story former hotel and improve its energy efficiency, facilitating its continued use as supportive housing. Cornerstone Residence is being developed by Safe Harbors of the Hudson.
Southern Tier
$38 million for the acquisition, adaptive reuse and new construction of 111 homes at Court Street Apartments in Binghamton. The project will adaptively reuse a former warehouse and office building, creating 80 new, affordable apartments, and will construct an addition onto the existing building, containing an additional 31 affordable apartments. The development will include 60 apartments with supportive services for homeless veterans, individuals with substance abuse disorders, and individuals with serious mental illness. Court Street Apartments is being developed by Helio Health.
Western New York
$23 million for the construction of 147 homes at Main Street Lofts in Buffalo. The development consists of the new construction of a five-story building containing 140 apartments and two townhouses containing seven apartments on a former brownfield site downtown Buffalo. Main Street Lofts is being co-developed by Pivotal and Belmont Housing Resources for WNY.
$23 million for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 174 homes at Francis John Apartments and Frederick Douglass Towers in Buffalo. The project entails interior and exterior rehabilitation work, including roof replacement and energy efficiency measures, at two separate senior housing developments with a total of 174 apartments. Francis John Apartments and Frederick Douglass Towers is being developed by Bridges Development.
$36 million for the acquisition and adaptive reuse of Harrison Place Lofts to create 82 homes in Lockport. The development will be located in a vacant three-story building at the former Harrison Radiator factory complex and create 82 new apartments. The building, which has been closed since 1987, has been identified as underutilized by the Lockport Downtown Revitalization Initiative and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Harrison Place Lofts is being developed by Kearney Realty & Development Group.
Governor Hochul’s Housing Agenda
These efforts build on Governor Hochul’s commitment to addressing New York’s housing crisis to make the state more affordable and more livable for all New Yorkers. The Governor secured historic investments as part of the FY 2024 Budget to help New Yorkers cope with the rising cost of housing, including $391 million in rental assistance to expand New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program to cover additional tenants and families – including NYCHA and other public housing residents; $50 million for tenant legal services; funding for a new Tenant Protection Unit office in upstate New York; $50 million for a Homeowner Stabilization Fund to finance home repairs in 10 communities across the state that have been identified as having high levels of low-income homeowners of color and homeowner distress; and $40 million for the Homeowner Protection Program to fund dozens of nonprofit housing counseling and legal services organizations around the state to help homeowners in default and foreclosure. As part of the FY 2023 Budget, the Governor announced a five-year, $25 billion Housing Plan, to create and preserve 100,000 affordable homes.
Governor Hochul also signed legislation to build and preserve affordable housing in New York City by authorizing New York City to adopt a new affordable housing rehabilitation program to replace the former J-51 program; giving New York City more flexibility to provide loans and grants for affordable housing and other related investments; and increasing the New York City Housing Development Corporation’s bonding capacity.
