The Trump Effect On Affordable Housing
President Trump’s initial budget outline would cut millions of dollars from affordable housing projects across New York City.
The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which develops affordable housing and monitors building code violations, is 86% federally funded, confirms Jason Rubin, Deputy Press Secretary for the agency. He adds that HPD could lose $21 million in rental assistance funding for the 2017 Federal Fiscal Year.
“HPD is committed to providing New York City residents with affordable homes and economic opportunity,” Rubin says. “The federal funding we receive is critical in enabling us to carry out this important work…. HPD plans on doing everything possible to educate representatives in Washington and fight the cuts.”
Approximately 39,000 New Yorkers rely on HPD’s rental assistance programs, according to an article in the New York Daily News. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) also expects $75 million in federal funding cuts.
Trump’s proposed changes to tax codes could also affect affordable housing in the city, reducing the effect of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit on investors of these projects.
Investors are reportedly pulling out of some affordable housing developments that are in progress, according to the Real Deal, which adds that the 145-unit Ingersoll Senior Residences project in Fort Greene is “facing a significant funding gap.”
When asked whether additional affordable housing developments in Brooklyn are losing investors, Rubin replied, “We are working with developers to solve gaps caused by funding changes on a case by case basis. We can’t speak to specific buildings or budget hypotheticals, but we are working and will continue to work to compensate for any instabilities.”
The tax program helped get more than 100,000 low-income housing units developed in New York State, primarily in New York City, from 2005 to 2014, according to a Real Deal study.
Congress established the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program in 1986 to entice corporations and banks into investing in affordable housing projects by reducing their tax liability.
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to create 200,000 affordable housing units in the city in 10 years is primarily funded by the city’s budget, however federal cuts could indirectly affect that budget, according to housing advocates.