HPD in 2020: A Year in Photos
2020 was an immensely challenging year. The pandemic has completely changed the landscape of our lives, but HPD never let up the critical work of helping New Yorkers find safe, quality affordable housing. Here are some snapshots of our work over the past twelve months to meet that challenge:
Stepping Out Every Day to Keep Tenants Safe
“As long as I’m keeping myself safe and keeping others safe, every day that passes, it gives me hope that things can get better.” — Vivian, HPD Housing Inspector
Even at the height of the pandemic, brave HPD inspectors like Vivian and Mohammad continued to step out every day to make sure tenants had heat, hot water, and safe living conditions.
Welcoming People into Their New Homes
“Especially during the pandemic, a home changes your life in so many ways.”
In April, Kaleena and her daughter moved out of a shelter into a new permanent home at the Fountains, in East New York. Throughout the crisis, HPD staff have worked tirelessly to ensure new affordable buildings like the Fountains open on schedule and provide homes to people in need.
Stabilizing Buildings for the Future
Oral inherited his Flatbush apartment building from his dad. He’s more passionate about computer programming than being a landlord, but he made a vow to keep the building in the family & affordable, and our Green Housing Preservation Program (GHPP) helped him do that with cost-saving green upgrades. In this period of crisis, programs like GHPP provide vital assistance for buildings where tenants face financial strain and landlords may lack the resources for proper maintenance.
Securing the Future of Co-Op City
Sonia Sotomayor, Queen Latifah and Kurtis Blow are just some of the countless New Yorkers who have called Co-Op City home over the decades. In April, we secured a deal to ensure that the development — the largest co-op in the entire world — will stay affordable until 2052. In these challenging times, that’s a big win for New York City.
Pitching in to Help New Yorkers in Need
In May, Carl Hicks drove across Queens to deliver face masks to Mitchell-Lama residents. He’s one of the many HPD employees who have volunteered their time during the pandemic to provide seniors and other vulnerable New Yorkers with critical supplies like masks, air conditioners, and food.
Helping Families Find Permanent Homes
We asked developers to house even more homeless families during the crisis, and streamlined our lease up system to move homeless people into safe, permanent housing as quickly as possible. This allowed us to complete a record breaking number of lease ups and give nearly 2,800 homeless New Yorkers a new start this year, including the Ramirez family, who left a family shelter in the South Bronx for a new affordable home in Bushwick.
Making it Easier to Apply for Affordable Housing
In June, we launched a new, mobile-friendly version of Housing Connect that makes it easier than ever to apply for affordable housing at buildings like the latest phase of Nehemiah Spring Creek in East New York (left), and 5241 Center Boulevard in Long Island City (right).
Helping Keep New Yorkers in their homes
In July, Commissioner Louise Carroll joined Mayor de Blasio at City Hall to announce the Landlord Tenant Mediation Project, a new initiative to help tenants and landlords resolve disputes outside of Housing Court and keep vulnerable New Yorkers in their homes. So far, more than 90% of its mediations have produced agreements.
Cracking Down on Bad Landlords
Frank is a member of our Tenant Anti-Harassment Unit, which cracks down on landlords who fail to fix hazardous conditions, falsify repairs, and harass tenants. This fall, the unit took sweeping legal actions against negligent landlords in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, extracting hundreds of thousands of dollars in civil penalties and winning court orders forcing them to treat tenants properly, and fix violations expeditiously.
Supporting Our M/WBE and Non-Profit Partners
The need to advance equitable models of ownership has never been clearer, and in October we announced a new rule that whenever affordable housing is built on City-owned sites, an M/WBE or non-profit partner must have at least a 25% ownership and financial stake.
Supportive Housing in the Heart of DUMBO
Now more than ever, we need to ensure that vulnerable New Yorkers have secure, stable and affordable homes, and 90 Sands helps us do just that. In November, our non-profit partner Breaking Ground began work to turn this former hotel in DUMBO, Brooklyn into 491 affordable homes. Over 300 of them are set-aside for homeless New Yorkers, who will receive supportive services to help them lead successful, fulfilling lives.
Preventing Displacement in Bed-Stuy
In November, we released the Bedford-Stuyvesant Housing Plan, which advances a health-centered vision to create new affordable housing and protect residents against displacement. Building on the neighborhood’s rich history at the forefront of the community development movement, the plan includes a new request for proposals for 280 new affordable homes paired with community health facilities, and new anti-displacement tools like a Homeowner Help Desk.
Creating a Blueprint for the Future of Fair Housing
In October, we released Where We Live NYC, a blueprint to advance fair housing and build a more equitable and integrated city over the next five years. The events of 2020 have made this work more urgent than ever: just as the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the continued significance of deeply embedded inequities, the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and the protests that followed made clear that we cannot take our foot off the gas when it comes to building a fairer society.
We are truly grateful for the HPD staff members and essential workers across New York City who have helped us weather this storm. As we look ahead to 2021, we are confident that in spite of the immense challenges our city faces, we can pull through and get to the other side a more affordable and equitable city.
Wishing everyone a safe holiday season and a happy New Year. Looking forward to brighter days ahead!
