Chair Sherman and Deputy Commissioner Sandler respond on density and AMI
Garodnick says every neighborhood is appropriate for affordable housing, fast track targets lagging production; Sandler explains AMI is based on market rents and HPD ensures highest AMI tier is below market.
So we recognize every neighborhood in New York State.
is an appropriate neighborhood for affordable housing, right, and can benefit from affordable housing.
The neighborhoods that are in the fast track are the neighborhoods where we have seen the production of affordable housing lagging.
And the goal is to be able to fast track affordable housing in those communities.
It still does not take our focus away from building, facilitating, supporting the creation of affordable housing in community districts citywide,
including the Bronx, which we see is leading the city in affordable housing production, but where we still are promoting and advancing affordable housing projects in the borough.
And I'll turn it over to HPD.
I just wanted to respond to your first question about AMI and its relationship to market rents.
AMI in New York City is very high.
The area median income name is actually a bit of a misnomer, and in New York City it's based around market rents.
And so because market rents keep going up in New York City, AMI has gone up every year quite significantly.
So there are many parts of the city, including your district, it sounds like, where 100% of AMI is above market.
And HPD does not finance affordable housing that is above market.
So in all of our projects that we're financing, we work to ensure that the highest AMI tier in our project is at least 20% below market.
So for projects that we get financed in a neighborhood where AMI is lower than market, we're making sure that the highest AMI tier is maybe 60% of AMI instead of 80% AMI in those neighborhoods.
And for projects that are utilizing our as-of-right tools, we also include...
encourage them to have the highest AMI tier be below market because if the highest AMI tier in a project is at market or above market, those units are not going to fill.
And they're going to sit vacant on Housing Connect, and that's going to be bad for sort of everyone involved.
Thank you, Councilmember Zwing.
Just want to indicate the Bronx has been doing their fair share in the affordability crisis.
That's why we were in that list.
But as you said, Chair, every district in New York City can't do their role with producing more affordable housing units.