State Approves $230.4 Million for Affordable Housing in New York City

Funds will Finance Construction and Renovation of 654 Affordable Housing Units

NEW YORK, NY (06/15/2007)(readMedia)-- The boards of the New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA), New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) and the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) approved a total of $230.4 million in affordable housing financing, grants and mortgage insurance commitments for New York City yesterday.

The funds approved yesterday will finance the construction and renovation of 654 units of affordable housing in the boroughs listed below:

Manhattan

The board of the NYS Housing Finance Agency (HFA), which finances creation and preservation of affordable multifamily housing, approved $176.4 million for a 394-unit residential rental property at 455 West 37th Street – the first project in New York City’s special Hudson Yards District to receive HFA approval.

The financing includes $136 million in tax-exempt bonds and $32 million in taxable bonds. As a condition of receiving the financing, the developer, Rockrose Development Corporation, will set aside 68 units for households with maximum incomes up to $31,900 per year, and 12 units for households with maximum incomes up to $25,500 per year.

Brooklyn

New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) and the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) approved a total of more than $22 million for 218 units of affordable housing in Brooklyn.

SONYMA mortgage insurance in the amount of $7.2 million was approved for the rehabilitation of Magnolia Plaza, 102 low-income rental units in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The insurance is to cover a loan from New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

The New York City Housing Partnership was approved for four Brooklyn projects:

  • $1.087 million in AHC grants for construction of 10 three-family homes located on scattered sites in the Brownsville neighborhood. Additional assistance is being provided by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
  • $1.6 million in AHC grants and more than $6.4 million in SONYMA mortgage insurance for 40 new cooperative units located in an 80-unit cooperative development in the Fort Green section. Additional assistance is being provided by the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, HPD and HDC.
  • $1.28 million in AHC grants for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 32 units in the East New York/Brownsville section. Additional assistance is being provided by HPD.
  • $1.187 million in AHC grants and $3 million in SONYMA mortgage insurance for 34 new co-operative units on Gates Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Additional assistance is being provided by the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, HPD and HDC.

Queens

AHC and SONYMA approved a total of more than $10.5 million for 145 units of affordable housing in Queens.

More than $8 million in SONYMA mortgage insurance was approved for the new 69-unit Queens Courthouse Cooperative Apartments in Jamaica, Queens. The insurance is to cover a loan from HDC.

The New York City Housing Partnership was approved for two Queens projects:

  • $1.527 million in AHC grants for construction of 47 units in the South Jamaica section of Queens. Additional assistance is being provided by the Queens Borough President’s Office and HPD.
  • $725,000 in AHC grants for construction of 29 units in the Arverne section of Far Rockaway in Queens. Additional assistance is being provided by HPD.

Bronx

AHC and SONYMA approved a total of more than $21.5 million for 211 units of affordable housing in the Bronx.

SONYMA mortgage insurance in the amount of $4.5 million was approved for the Fox Leggett Co-op Apartments, a new seven-story building containing 50 cooperative units in the Longwood section of the Bronx. The insurance is to cover a loan from HDC.

The New York City Housing Partnership was approved for $6.2 million in AHC grants and $10.8 million in SONYMA mortgage insurance for 161 new cooperative units at 1247 Grant Avenue in the Highbridge section of the Bronx. Additional assistance is being provided by the Bronx Borough President’s Office, HPD and HDC.

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HFA was created as a public benefit corporation in 1960, to finance low-income housing by raising funds through the issuance of housing revenue bonds and the making of mortgage loans to eligible borrowers.

AHC is a subsidiary of HFA and was established in 1985 to promote homeownership by low- and moderate-income households, by providing financial assistance as approved annually by the New York State Legislature, in conjunction with other private and public investment, for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and improvement of owner occupied housing.

SONYMA’s Mortgage Insurance Fund was created in 1978 to promote the preservation and revitalization of communities across the State of New York by providing insurance on single-family mortgage loans to promote homeownership, and on multifamily mortgage loans that encourage investment of capital by commercial and public lenders.

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