Relief for Low-Income Co-Op Owners: AG James, Mayor Adams, HPD Announce Pilot Program Support

New York Attorney General Letitia James, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Acting Commissioner Ahmed Tigani announced a new pilot program to support struggling Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) cooperatives in New York City and ensure they can continue to offer safe, affordable homeownership opportunities for low-income New Yorkers.

The pilot program — called the HDFC Cooperative Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) and backed by settlement funds from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) — will provide HDFC co-ops in New York City with targeted technical assistance from the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, Inc. (UHAB) to help improve their financial, operational, and physical health.

“As New York City faces a housing crisis, we must do everything we can to preserve affordable housing and homeownership opportunities,” said Attorney General James. “This pilot program will help HDFC co-ops continue to provide safe, sustainable, and affordable paths to homeownership for low-income New Yorkers. I am grateful to Mayor Adams, HPD, and UHAB for their partnership in bringing this new program to life.”

“Our administration works every day to make New York City the best place to raise a family, including by helping more New Yorkers buy and keep homes here in the five boroughs. With this new program, we’ll double down on those efforts, bolstering a critical part of our city’s housing stock and helping more families find an affordable place to live,” said Mayor Eric Adams.

“Our thanks to Attorney General James for helping launch this program and for her steadfast support for working-class New Yorkers. There is simply no other way to say it: we are the most pro-housing administration in New York City history.”

“A severely aged housing stock, an increasingly complex compliance landscape, skyrocketing insurance and utility costs, and the economic ripple effects of the pandemic on low-income New Yorkers have made the operations of affordable co-ops more and more challenging,” said Margy Brown, Executive Director at UHAB. “UHAB is grateful to see the Attorney General’s and HPD’s generous investment in skilled technical assistance to support HDFCs’ pathway to long term stability.”

HDFC co-ops are a critical part of New York City’s affordable housing landscape and provide one of the most reliable paths to homeownership for low- to moderate-income New Yorkers.
During the two-year program period, HPD will work closely with UHAB to identify a priority list of at-risk HDFC co-ops that would benefit from external support. Together with HPD, UHAB will assess each HDFC HPD and assist approximately 20-30 HDFC co-ops through the pilot program to address various common issues.