
HPD Commissioner Vicki Been answering questions at the 130th CityLaw Breakfast. Image credit: CityLaw
The former HPD Commissioner will continue to work on affordability and economic opportunities for the City. On April 4, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the appointment of former Department of Housing and Preservation Commissioner Vicki Been as the new Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development. She succeeded Alicia Glen, who served in the position for five years.
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Rendering of modular construction at 581 Grant Avenue. Image Credit: Think! Architecture and Design/NYC HPD
The program will create studio to four bedroom homes for low income and formerly homeless individuals. On March 4, 2019, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced plans to develop 167 affordable units on City-owned land in East New York. The program is being developed by a team led by Thorobird Companies along with nonprofit partner Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services (BACDYS) and will have a unique modular design to hold the mixed-use development on City-owned land on the Grant Avenue Municipal lot located at 581 Grant Avenue in East New York. (more…)

Image Credit: CetraRuddy/S9Architects/HPD
The new buildings will provide affordable housing, space for businesses, and social services from partnering non-profits in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen community. On February 13, 2019, Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announced the selection of development teams to build approximately 260 affordable housing units on two City-owned sites in the Clinton and Hell’s Kitchen neighborhoods of Midtown Manhattan. The sites were identified for development into affordable housing through the Hudson Yards Plan, a comprehensive proposal to develop Manhattan’s Far West side. The two developments were approved following HPD’s Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen request for proposal (RFP) for the two sites. One building will be located at 806 9th Avenue (the Ninth Avenue site) and the other building will be located at 705 10th Avenue (the Tenth Avenue site).
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Rendering of Betances VI. Image Credit: NYC CPC
The building will feature supportive housing with in-building staff to provide services. On January 30, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to approve an application for the development of a 15 story mixed-use building in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. The building will have approximately 100 residential units and will be located at 472-474 Willis Avenue between East 146th and East 147th Streets. The development site will be leased to the development team by NYCHA. (more…)

Photographer/Mayoral Photography Office
The de Blasio administration increases goal to building and preserving 300,000 affordable units by 2026. On October 24, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the administration is on track with meeting the goal of 200,000 units and is expected to meet the goal by 2022, two years ahead of the 2014 plan’s original date. Using the City’s new tools, programs and funding, the City will work to secure 25,000 affordable units annually by 2021. With the new annual goal in place, the Mayor announced a new goal of building and preserving 300,000 affordable units by 2026, adding 100,000 additional units to his original goal.
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