An overhaul of the tax-exempt private activity bond allocation process would benefit New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's 10-year affordable housing initiative, a policy analyst said.
Daniel Parcerisas of the research organization Citizens Housing Planning Council called for administrative action or legislative change to prioritize housing over economic development, advance the recapture date to July from October to enable the state Division of the Budget to reallocate unissued state bonds, and enhance transparency overall.
"Our research shows that multifamily housing makes for the best use of private activity bonds," Parcerisas said Wednesday at the 16th annual New York State Association for Affordable Housing conference at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square. Despite that, he said, state legislation favors economic development agencies.
Parcerisas co-authored the 58-page report "
New York State operates under a $1.9 billion private activity bond ceiling, or $100 per resident.
Parcerisas also called for better reporting that tracks which agencies receive and use bond allocations.
According to the study, the New York City Housing Development Corp. and New York State Housing Finance Agency collectively issued more than $11.5 billion in new and recycled tax-exempt private activity bonds to finance the preservation and new construction of nearly 50,000 income-restricted units in the city from 2005 to 2013. HDC itself issued $5 billion during the study period.
Federal regulations consider mortgage programs for single-family homeownership and multifamily rental projects qualified purposes that can benefit from such bonds.
De Blasio wants to create or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing over the next decade.
"As we rezone, we take a holistic view," said Vicki Been, the city's commissioner of housing preservation and development and point person for de Blasio's plan. "We look at transportation infrastructure, schools, parks, retail and jobs."
Others at the conference spoke of the need for better financing to keep up with housing demand, notably in New York City.
"Our goals are all well and good and we do our best, but if we don't have the money to pay for it, we might not be able to accomplish our goals," said HDC President Gary Rodney, whose agency has issued nearly $14 billion in bonds since 2003 and provided more than $1.6 billion in subsidy from corporate reserves.
Separately, Been and Rodney on Wednesday announced a green housing preservation program to assist owners of small- to mid-sized buildings with energy and water conservation upgrades in exchange for entering into an affordable housing agreement. Owners could realize energy savings of more than 10%, they said.
The new program and related green preservation initiatives are funded with $45 million in city capital that de Blasio provided in his fiscal 2016 executive budget. Additionally, a New York City Energy Efficiency Corp. program will be available to participating owners who need assistance in financing the necessary predevelopment requirements.
