The Roundtable: Vicki Been

 Q: Is the city winding down the previous administration’s New Housing Marketplace Plan? 

VB: While the NHMP has been winding down by design, development projects have long life spans, and there may naturally be some initial overlap. We have learned many lessons from the NHMP and housing efforts of past administrations. We’ve seen the importance of setting ambitious objectives but recognize that we must not lose focus on goals beyond a unit target, because it is people, not units, that matter. A housing plan must be nimble—market conditions change and a successful plan must be able to shift resources to take advantage of a window of favorable conditions, or to find the silver lining when markets are less robust. 

Q: Will HPD review the city’s 421a property tax abatement program? 

VB: We are reviewing the tax incentives traditionally used to spur development to see if they can be put to use in new ways to further encourage the private market to produce affordable housing. We also are examining whether the subsidies are working as efficiently as possible and whether the city is getting enough affordable housing in return for the benefit provided. We’ll be looking at whether the periods of affordability required should be longer, how we are weighing the costs and benefits of on-site affordable housing, and whether there are any circumstances in which multiple subsidies are needed to encourage the production of affordable housing. 

Q: Will HPD request an increase in the federal volume cap allocation to spur creating more affordable housing? 

VB: The NYC Housing Development Corporation negotiates with the state for the volume cap we receive, and intends to request an increase in the city’s volume cap allocation. Both HDC and the New York State Housing Finance Agency have moved to a bifurcated financing structure for 80/20 and 50/30/20 projects, a practice that preserves volume cap and the accompanying low-income housing tax credits by applying it only to the percentage of the units that are affordable. We believe that as a result there will be more volume cap available to finance affordable housing in the city.