NYC Gained 40,000 Units of Affordable Housing Since 2014

The city's administration has provided funds for 40,204 units of affordable housing since Bill de Blasio took over as Mayor on January 1, 2014, according to his office. Those apartments provide homes for over 100,000 New Yorkers, and also include the largest number of newly created affordable housing in a single year since the city's housing department was established 38 years ago. "This has to be a city for everyone," said de Blasio in a press release. "And that's why we are fighting displacement in fast-changing neighborhoods. It's why we're putting shovels in the ground on a new generation of apartments that working people can actually afford. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers go to sleep every night worried about whether they'll be able to afford rent next month or next year. With our housing plan, we're giving seniors and working families security for decades."

De Blasio made the announcement at a group of buildings in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights on Monday. Those buildings house 212 households that make as little as $24,000 per year and will be preserved as affordable housing until 2047.

In 2015 alone, the administration funded 21,041 units of affordable housing - one third of those were part of new developments, and the rest were preserving existing affordable units. In the most recent ten-year capital plan, the administration has set aside $7.5 billion for affordable housing and an additional $1 billion for public facilities like parks, libraries, and for the construction of roads.

These numbers include some standout statistics, such as the funding of 1,081 units for families of three that make less than $23,300 a year, 1,087 new and preserved apartments for very low income seniors, and 1,618 apartments for the formerly homeless through a collaboration between the department of housing, the housing development corporation, and the department of homeless services.

The news comes as some form of consolation considering the Mayor's two new proposals for affordable housing - one to preserve existing units, and another to add units at new buildings in exchange for larger sized projects has come under fire from groups and residents across the city in recent months.

· Bill de Blasio's plan for affordable housing gets roasted in four boroughs [NYDN]
· All the Affordable Housing coverage [Curbed]