PEF members at the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) play a major role in providing affordable housing for state employees.
They don’t deal directly with a potential renter or buyer, but their financial savvy results in getting an affordable price tag on housing for low- to moderate-income New Yorkers.
“With
grants and tax credits that match bond financing, we are able to provide housing
for people with incomes 80 percent lower than the median income in New York
City, which is $59,800 for a single family,” said PEF member Luis Acosta, a
housing and community development representative at the Office of Community
Development.“We help subsidize the cost of developing a project through grants and low-interest loans to private developers, which brings down the cost of financing,” Acosta said.
“Bank financing is still necessary, but with the subsidies less money must be borrowed, and less money repaid. This lowers the operating costs of the project and that enables developers to charge lower rents or offer affordable housing.”
More resources
“The right to decent and affordable housing is every citizen’s right, just as it is to achieve the American dream. PEF members, as public employees, are entitled to benefit from their service and employment by taking advantage of all the resources that are available to them in New York state,” Acosta said.
“Fortunately, we have a new federal administration and more resources. President Obama understands housing is an industry. Developing affordable housing also creates jobs for those in the building trades and property management. It engages the banks and private investors to participate in the financing.
“It also engages other professionals such as investors, underwriters and market analysts,” Acosta said. “It makes a positive impact and stimulates the economy. We are glad to play a role in it.”
Partnerships
In New York state several hundred large funding housing companies receive administrative funding from DHCR. They are called neighborhood preservation companies.
Many programs and agencies are dedicated to providing affordable home ownership opportunities to low- and moderate-income families. They include the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and the Achieving The Dream and Keep The Dream programs.
“We also partner with other agencies under the Home For Working Families program,” Acosta said. “If a developer is structuring an affordable housing project in which at least 50 percent of the funds are financed through bonds provided by an agency, such as the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), we can provide grants on the average of $35,000 to $345,000. Because it is bond financed, it is eligible for tax credits.”
DHCR has offices in Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse and New York City, all devoted to helping developers and investors get the best value for their buck, so they can pass on the savings to New Yorkers.
