NYC Allocates 1.65 Million for Affordable Housing -Vacant Land

New York’s latest Affordable Housing innovation comes through its’ vacant land, particularly in gentrifying neighborhoods. HPD is allocating $1.65 million in grants for Community Land Trusts (CLT ) in all NYC boroughs. These monies come from a pool of $3.5 million in bank settlements Attorney General Eric Schniederman negotiated and was divided among nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners. Community Land Trusts (CLT’s) are non-profits that obtain and manage land while mobilizing residents to create the terms for spending.  Residents along with organizations like Habitat for Humanity work to build and manage properties along with other services the community needs. Once CLT monies are obtained, what is built cannot be sold for profit –in most cases.  This differs from the 10 year plan initiated by Major Deblasio where for profit developers benefit from tax incentives to build affordable housing units – though these units have median incomes found well beyond low income tenants -or fall outside of affordability for many people. The model works and has a stellar program with a proven record, the Cooper Square CLT.

Ryan Hickey, lead organizer at Picture the Homeless and Board Member of the New York City Community Land Initiative stated “Four years ago, politicians were saying this was a pipe dream…fast forward because we organized look at where we are today. The New York City Community Land Initiative is an alliance of social justice, and affordable housing organizations and persons in the academic arena, united to provide housing for all. It was initiated by Picture the Homeless, a grassroots agency founded and led by homeless persons.  Take a look at the Comic Book poster created by the NYC Community Land Initiative…