Policy
ANHD’s policy work is centered-on promoting a progressive, comprehensive housing agenda for New York City’s neighborhoods. Much of our focus is on the creation and improvement of City-funded housing programs and initiatives which address the housing and community development priorities of our members’ neighborhoods.
In 2007, ANHD's focus is on reform and expansion of the city's Third Party Transfer program, pushing the city and state to commit to permanent affordability in their production and preservation programs, and the creation of a true statewide affordable housing trust fund.
Under the leadership of our member-only Policy Committee, we engage in practical research and analysis, sponsor educational forums and generate position papers and alerts in support of our current advocacy strategies.
For ANHD’s Affordable Housing Platform
and other policy publications and documents, Click Here
For more information on ANHD's policy and advocacy initiatives,
contact Dave Hanzel, Policy Director at davidb.h@anhd.org
Housing Advocacy
In 2008, ANHD will work together with our members to build on recent policy advocacy accomplishments, focusing on:
Taken together, these five campaigns add up to a comprehensive approach to city-level policy change to protect tenants and preserve affordable housing.
Funding
for Affordable Housing
ANHD and our members work annually to ensure that there are sufficient resources
in the City and State budgets to support the preservation and production of
affordable housing.
Funding
Neighborhood-Based Housing Preservation
In the spring of 2007, ANHD proposed the creation of a City Council-funded initiative
to help communities preserve their rapidly diminishing supply of affordable
housing by supporting neighborhood groups to develop a strategic, grassroots-based
solution to the particular threat to affordable housing that is most pressing
in their individual community. Through our advocacy, we were successful in securing
$1.5 million for the Housing Preservation Initiative, which will provide $60,000
to 25 neighborhood-based housing groups.
In the coming year, ANHD will work to extend and expand council funding
for the initiative.
Preserving
HUD-Subsidized Housing
Project-based Section
8 housing is a crucial resource in our city, currently providing over 47,000
stable, affordable apartments to working families. But, a crisis is looming.Many
of these units are at risk of failing-out of the program because of owner mismanagement,
or opting-out of the program as owners chase higher market rents. In fact, since
2002, our city has lost 39% of our project-based Section 8 units. In 2005, ANHD
convened the Save our Homes Coalition, winning a commitment from the city to
create a “preservation czar” to coordinate and implement a cohesive
City strategy to preserve at-risk project based Section 8 units.
To successfully protect a HUD subsidized building that is at risk of opting or failing-out of the program, tenants must be organized into an effective association with strategic and legal support, and, in many cases, a not-for-profit must be ready with a financing plan to take the building off the private market. ANHD is now focusing on this painstaking, building-by-building work connecting local not-for-profit housing groups that have organizing and development capacity with at-risk buildings in their area. Using both our organizing and development expertise, ANHD staff will closely support these groups to engage effective strategies in these buildings.
Creating
New Protections Against Tenant Harassment
Harassment
of tenants paying a moderate rent has reached crisis proportions and is a major
factor in the loss of affordable housing. This harassment takes many forms,
including baseless legal cases against the tenant, denial of repairs and essential
services, and threats based on the tenant’s immigration status. But the
goal is always the same – illegally push the tenant out in order to increase
the rent from moderate to market-rate. Last year alone, over 13,000 apartments
were taken out of the Rent Stabilization and Rent Control system by their landlords
using various legal loopholes, and harassment of tenants was a central factor
in the loss of many of these 13,000 units. In spite of the scale of the problem,
tenants have almost no specific protection against harassment and cannot raise
the issue in the most appropriate venue, housing court. This past year, ANHD
led a campaign to educate the public about the crisis of harassment.
As a result of this education campaign, Council Speaker Quinn recently introduced
landmark legislation to create a new “private right of action” allowing
tenants to use housing court to fight against harassment. This new law may be
passed in early 2008.
Moving Towards Permanent Affordability
Mayor Bloomberg has justifiably received credit for his “New Housing Marketplace”
affordable housing production plan to create 165,000 new affordable units. What
has been overlooked, however, is the fact that the affordability of the majority
of these units is short-term, expiring when the underlying bond or tax credit
financing expires. With the Mayor’s recently released plan for the year
2030 calling on all areas of the government to plan strategically for one million
new city residents, the fact that much of the affordable housing now being built
will not be affordable in 2030 seems like shortsighted, unsustainable policy.
Other cities around the country have successfully addressed the complex legal
and regulatory issues surrounding “sustainable affordability”.
ANHD began developing a campaign to address the issue of sustainable affordability
with a convening of stakeholders, exploring the numerous financing, legal, and
regulatory tools that could be applied to get to sustainable affordability.
We are continuing to refine these ideas in smaller working groups. ANHD will
produce a policy document and reconvene all the stakeholders to plan a research,
media, and organizing campaign that we will carry out over the next two years
to win this major city policy change.
For more information about these campaigns, contact Benjamin Dulchin, Advocacy
Director at benjamin.d@anhd.org
Reinvestment
Advocacy
The
BANKING/REINVESTMENT WORKING GROUP monitors CRA related activity of area
banks, responds to important bank mergers and fosters networking among community
housing groups and area financial institutions. In 2006, the Working Group submitted
comments on the Sovereign
Bank acquisition of Independence Community Bank, the Capital
One purchase of North Fork and JPMorgan
Chase's purchase of Bank of New York's retail business. Most recently, ANHD
has submitted comments on the Bank
of America/U.S. Trust Application. Over the years, this working group has
been very successful in obtaining CRA commitments from banks resulting in increased
resources and new products tailored to the credit needs of the City's lower-income
communities. To get involved, contact Irene Baldwin, Executive Director at irene.b@anhd.org
TRAINING & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
The Affordable Housing Institute was created by ANHD in 1990 to encourage best practices in affordable housing development and management among New York City’s community housing groups. Well-trained and capable staff help ensure that community housing assets are preserved for the future.
The Institute is the only affordable, comprehensive housing management training program offered by a non-profit for non-profits and which focuses entirely on housing and asset management issues particular to the New York City community housing movement. The Institute offers several multi-session courses each year as well as a roster of half-day workshops.
Each course provides small classes (30 student limit), individual attention for our students and conveniently located classes. All instructors are teaching from hands-on experience. Resource materials provide current information. Field trips demonstrate current methods, best practices and new technologies. Each student develops a project related to the course and her or his work.
Upcoming Courses
Managing Affordable Housing - An Introduction
To Asset And Property Management
Thursdays beginning Sept. 25, 2008 (ten weekly sessions) 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
- This is a course for building
managers and other staff of nonprofit housing agencies that develop and manage
affordable housing. It will be presented by ANHD members, other professional
property managers, and affordable housing experts. Site visits to affordable
housing projects and facilities owned and managed by ANHD members will be part
of the curriculum. Cost: $500.00 ($350.00 for the staff
of ANHD member organizations) For more information, contact Mike Bucci
at 212-765-7123 or mgbucci@aol.com Click
here for Course Description and Registration Form
Upcoming Workshops
Managing Lean and Green - A monthly workshop series
for affordable housing managers
Wednesdays (March 5 thru Nov 5, 2008) 10:00 AM - 12:00
PM
ANHD, Pratt Center for Community Development,
and the Supportive Housing Network of NY are sponsoring this workshop series
where you can learn and share information about how to make your existing housing
portfolio more energy efficient, healthier, and more financially viable. Cost:
$200 for 12 sessions, or $20 per session. Location: Pratt
Manhattan, 144 W. 14th St. (between 6th and 7th Avenues) Room 602. For more
information, contact wfleisch@pratt.edu, erubin@shnny.org, mgbucci@aol.com.
Click here for
list of topics and registration form
Unless otherwise
indicated, all courses and workshops are held at the ANHD office at 50 Broad
Street, Suite 1125, Manhattan. You must be registered in advance to attend any
course or workshop. To register, contact Rita Mazza at 212-747-1117, x10, or
email rita.m@anhd.org
INITIATIVE FOR NEIGHBORHOOD and CITY WIDE ORGANIZING (INCO)
In the fall of 2003, ANHD launched a new, large-scale capacity building program to strengthen grassroots organizing in low-income neighborhoods around the city. The Initiative for Neighborhood and City-Wide Organizing is a four year, 4.8 million dollar effort designed to increase our members capacity to organize in their own neighborhoods as well as to increase community residents' ability to influence city-wide policy on housing issues. INCO is a collaboration between ANHD and the Neighborhood Opportunities Fund, a consortium of corporate and private philanthropies based in New York City. The Neighborhood Opportunities Fund will provide direct grants of $50,000 a year for four years to fifteen participating neighborhood-based housing groups. ANHD provides overall program management, extensive technical assistance to the groups, and coordination of city-wide policy organizing activities.
INCO complements ANHD's advocacy agenda by increasing support for a comprehensive progressive housing agenda. By strengthening the community voices of low-income neighborhoods, we will ensure that our city's housing policy is responsive to the needs and priorities of poor and working people.
The 2007 INCO grantees are:
For further information, contact David Shuffler Jr., INCO Director, at david.s@anhd.org
Grants, loans, homebuyer education and mortgage counseling services are available through the New York Mortgage Coalition (NYMC), a nonprofit organization administered by ANHD that helps low- and moderate-income residents of New York City, Long Island and Westchester County to become homeowners.
Learn everything you need to know to buy your first home!
Work individually with a homebuyer counselor to address credit, budgeting and savings issues!
Tap into grants for downpayment and closing costs, if you qualify!
NYMC's services are for those wishing to purchase
a cooperative, condominium or a one-to-four family home in New York City, Long
Island or Westchester County, and who have incomes below $65,000 in New York
City, $79,000 on Long Island and $86,000 in Westchester County. Homeownership
counseling is provided free of charge, though a nominal fee may be charged to
obtain a credit report or enroll in classes.
To
access these services, contact one of the following NYMC counseling groups:
| AAFE
Community Development Fund 111 Division Street New York, New York 10002 (212) 964-2288 Languages: English, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin Subway: F to East Broadway |
Cypress
Hills Local Development Corporation 3214 Fulton Street Brooklyn, New York 11208 (718) 647-8100 Languages: English and Spanish Subway: J to Norwood |
| Housing
Action Council 55 South Broadway Tarrytown, New York 10591 (914) 332-5229 Languages: English and Spanish Metro-North: Hudson Line to Tarrytown |
Long
Island Housing Partnership 180 Oser Avenue Hauppauge, New York 11788 (631) 435-4710 Languages: English and Spanish LIRR: Ronkonkoma Branch Line to Brentwood or Central Islip |
Margert
Community Corporation |
Neighborhood
Housing Services of Jamaica 89-70 162nd Street Jamaica, New York 11432 (718) 291-7400 Language: English Subway: E, J or Z to Jamaica Center/Parsons-Archer |
| Neighbors
Helping Neighbors 443 39th Street, Suite 202 Brooklyn, New York 11232 (718) 686-7946 Languages: English and Spanish Subway: M, N, R or D to 36th Street |
Pratt
Area Community Council 1224 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11216 (718) 783-3549 Language: English Subway: C or S to Franklin Avenue |
For more information about the New York Mortgage Coalition, contact Ken Inadomi,
Director, at ken.i@anhd.org
or Corrine Balgobin, Assistant Director, at corrine.b@anhd.org.
To read our 2004 annual review, click here