Expand Affordable Housing NYC

Section 1. The housing New York program act for the twenty-first century is hereby enacted to read as follows:

HOUSING NEW YORK PROGRAM ACT FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Section 1. Short title.

2. Legislative findings and purpose.

3. Definitions.

4. Housing New York program for the twenty-first century.

5. Minimization of displacement.

6. Affordability.

7. Rent regulation.

8. Standards and criteria.

9. Allocation of program funds.

10. Income determinations.

11. Maintenance of effort.

12. Contracts.

13. Reports.

14. Act not to supersede other requirements.

15. Severability.

Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "housing New York program act for the twenty-first century".

§ 2. Legislative findings and purpose. It is hereby found and declared that there exists in the city of New York a seriously inadequate supply

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD09272-01-9

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of safe, sanitary and affordable dwelling accommodations for persons and families for whom the ordinary operations of private enterprise cannot provide such accommodations as provided herein and that such shortage is progressively more severe to the degree that the incomes of such persons are lower; that there exists in such city a significant number of one to two unit and multiple dwellings which are deteriorated or vacant; that the existence of such conditions creates a serious threat to the health, safety, welfare, comfort and security of the people of the state and further depletes the supply of safe, sanitary and affordable dwelling accommodations; and that substantial commitments of funds will be required to alleviate the present shortage of safe, sanitary and affordable dwelling accommodations for persons and families of low and moderate income.

The legislature further finds that: (1) in order to assure that funds, which are now or may in the future become available from public sources for the provision of dwelling accommodations, are used to benefit persons of low and moderate income, who face the most serious shortage of safe, sanitary and affordable housing; (2) in order to assure that such funds are otherwise used in the most beneficial manner; and (3) in order to provide new funds for such purposes through the Battery Park city authority and the subsidiary corporation of the New York city housing development corporation pursuant to this act, the housing New York program act for the twenty-first century should be established by the legislature.

§ 3. Definitions. As used in this act, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:

1. "City" shall mean (a) the city of New York, (b) its agencies and instrumentalities (other than the housing New York corporation), and (c) except for the purposes of section twelve of this act, the New York city housing development corporation;

2. "Housing New York corporation" shall mean the subsidiary corporation of the New York city housing development corporation created by section 654-c of the private housing finance law;

3. "Housing New York program for the twenty-first century" shall mean the housing New York program for the twenty-first century established pursuant to section four of this act;

4. "Housing program funds" shall mean those moneys described in subdivision one of section four of this act;

5. "Dwelling accommodations" shall mean one or more residential dwelling units, which are located in buildings or structures eligible for assistance under the programs and activities set forth in subdivision two of section four of this act;

6. "Median income for the area in which dwelling accommodations are located" shall mean median income calculated in accordance with the regulations of the United States department of housing and urban development governing eligibility for occupancy as a lower income family by a family of four in the metropolitan statistical area which includes the city of New York for purposes of section eight of the United States housing act of nineteen hundred thirty-seven, as such act is amended to the date of enactment of this act;

7. "Minority-owned business enterprise" shall mean a business enterprise, including a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation that is: (a) at least fifty-one percent owned by one or more minority group members; (b) an enterprise in which such minority ownership is real, substantial and continuing; (c) an enterprise in which such minority ownership has and exercises the authority to control independently the

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day-to-day business decisions of the enterprise; and (d) an enterprise authorized to do business in this state and independently owned and operated;

8. "Minority group member" shall mean a United States citizen or permanent resident alien who is and can demonstrate membership in one of the following groups: (a) Black persons having origins in any of the Black African racial groups; (b) Hispanic persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Central or South American of either Indian or Hispanic origin, regardless of race; (c) Native American or Alaskan native persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America; and (d) Asian and Pacific Islander persons having origins in any of the Far East countries, South East Asia, the Indian subcontinent or the Pacific Islands; and

9. "Utilization plan" shall mean a plan prepared by a contractor and submitted in connection with a proposed state contract. The utilization plan shall identify certified minority-owned or women-owned business enterprises, if known, that have committed to perform work in connection with the proposed state contract as well as any such enterprises, if known, which the contractor intends to use in connection with the contractor's performance of the proposed state contract. The plan shall specifically contain a list, including the name, address and telephone number, of each certified enterprise with which the contractor intends to subcontract.

§ 4. Housing New York program for the twenty-first century. 1. There is hereby established a program to be known as the "housing New York program for the twenty-first century" pursuant to which the city of New York, its agencies and instrumentalities (other than the housing New York corporation) and the New York city housing development corporation shall acquire, rehabilitate, construct, enlarge, improve and renovate dwelling accommodations and provide assistance in order to have such activities performed, subject to the terms and conditions of this act. Such program shall be financed with the total amount of funds which are made available from the following sources during the twenty year period commencing July first, next succeeding the date on which this act shall have taken effect:

(a) moneys provided to the city by the housing New York corporation pursuant to section 654-c of the private housing finance law; and

(b) moneys committed to the housing New York program for the twentyfirst century by the city.

2. Housing program funds shall only be utilized in programs and activities of the city for the provision of dwelling accommodations, and the real and personal property acquired, owned, constructed, equipped, improved, enlarged, rehabilitated or renovated to provide such accommodations and incidental and appurtenant commercial, social, recreational or communal facilities, which programs and activities may include those under articles 8, 8-A, 11 and 15 of the private housing finance law and those programs and activities designed to:

(a) preserve, repair, renovate, upgrade, improve, modernize, rehabilitate or otherwise prolong the useful life of dwelling accommodations;

(b) construct dwelling accommodations and undertake site preparation related thereto;

(c) restore abandoned, vacant or occupied city or privately-owned dwelling accommodations to habitable condition;

(d) assist in the acquisition of buildings which contain or are expected to contain dwelling accommodations;

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(e) facilitate the disposition of city-owned buildings which contain or are expected to contain dwelling accommodations; and

(f) provide infrastructure improvements related to and undertaken as part of programs and activities for owner-occupied buildings which contain no more than four dwelling accommodations; provided, however, that no more than ten percent of the amount of housing program funds shall be utilized for the purposes of this paragraph.

The city is hereby authorized to carry out, by loans or otherwise, programs and activities designed to achieve the purposes described in paragraphs (a) through (f) of this subdivision, all in accordance with any applicable provisions of law.

3. All expenditures by the city of housing program funds shall be appropriated by the city council of the city of New York.

§ 5. Minimization of displacement. Within nine months following the effective date of this act, the city shall issue and promulgate, in accordance with the New York city charter, rules and regulations which describe the procedures pursuant to which the city shall meet the following goals:

1. The city shall use its best efforts to ensure that programs and activities carried out pursuant to the housing New York program for the twenty-first century are structured so as to minimize the likelihood of any involuntary physical or economic displacement of tenants and owners who reside in dwelling accommodations which are the subject of such programs and activities other than temporarily, as a direct result of rehabilitation work which is performed in such tenant's or owner's building or dwelling accommodations, in which case suitable temporary relocation arrangements shall be provided.

2. In assembling sites for new construction projects which will utilize housing program funds, and undertaking any demolition work necessary to prepare such sites, the city shall avoid the displacement of any existing tenants and owners of structurally sound dwelling accommodations to the greatest extent feasible and in addition, give a priority in occupying the project constructed with housing program funds to any tenant or owner so displaced, if they are income eligible to do so.

3. The city shall keep a record of all tenants and owners who are involuntarily physically displaced by virtue of rehabilitation work carried out with housing program funds or work necessary to prepare new construction sites which utilize housing program funds and take reasonable steps to determine the number of tenants economically displaced by virtue of such work.

Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to make less restrictive any inconsistent requirement of state or local law or regulation which provides protections against involuntary displacement of occupants of housing accommodations.

§ 6. Affordability. In structuring programs and activities pursuant to the housing New York program for the twenty-first century, the city shall take reasonable steps to assure that dwelling accommodations assisted by housing program funds remain affordable to the income groups occupying such accommodations for a substantially long period of time, such periods to be determined by the city in accordance with section eight of this act.

§ 7. Rent regulation. Notwithstanding the provisions of, or any regulation promulgated pursuant to, the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine or the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in the case of a dwelling accommodation in a multiple dwelling operated as rental property, which benefits from housing

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program funds, if: (1) such dwelling accommodation at the time construction or rehabilitation work carried out with housing program funds is completed, is not subject to the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, the local emergency housing rent control act or local law enacted pursuant thereto, or regulation by the city such dwelling accommodation shall be made subject to the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine by the provisions of this section for a period which shall be determined by the city and thereafter until the first vacancy which occurs in such dwelling accommodation, or (2) such dwelling accommodation is subject to any of the laws, acts or regulations described in subdivision one of this section at the time construction or rehabilitation work carried out with housing program funds is completed, such dwelling accommodation shall continue to be subject to such laws, acts or regulations to the same extent, in the same manner and for the same period of time provided in any statute which provides coverage for such housing accommodation under such laws, acts or regulations and shall not be affected by the provisions of this section for the duration of such coverage, provided, however, that the city may provide that upon the termination of coverage of such housing accommodations under any of the laws, acts or regulations described in subdivision one of this section such housing accommodations shall be subject to the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine for a period which shall be determined by the city and thereafter until the first vacancy which occurs in such housing accommodation. The provisions of this act shall not be deemed to provide rent regulation pursuant to the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine for any period of time subsequent to the expiration or termination of such law.