Our vibrant, diverse, and beautiful city was built and sustained by our parents, grandparents, and generations past. Yet today, too many older New Yorkers struggle to find a stable place to call home. At the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), we are rethinking how to serve this population, while recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
One of the most effective approaches to tackling this challenge — and a central commitment of our work to ensure equitable housing and true mobility — is ensuring that the homes we invest in are designed to be universally accessible. That’s why, working with the City Council, we passed Local Law 30 of 2023. Building on our existing efforts to incorporate age-friendly design, this law codifies universal design standards in most new HPD construction. Features like reduced obstructions; added grab bars; adjustable countertops; and accessible placement of switches, outlets, and thermostats make these homes more livable for everyone, regardless of age or ability.
In the interim, as we strive to achieve that universal goal, we are working hard to improve the tools that we currently have. I was proud to join Mayor Eric Adams in announcing major reforms to our Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) program. These changes create new opportunities for intergenerational living in affordable housing by allowing for the creation of projects with two-bedroom units, allowing seniors to live alongside family members or with live-in aides in inclusive, supportive environments while supporting family-friendly neighborhoods. This builds on earlier SARA updates from this administration, such as a pilot program launched last fall that prioritizes 10% of units for older adults currently living in inaccessible homes. Together, these reforms reflect a simple but powerful idea: Affordable housing for seniors should not just provide shelter — it should foster dignity, independence, and community.
Why the change? The city’s SARA program — aimed at developing deeply affordable, age-restricted housing for older adults — has historically focused on studio and one-bedroom units. While this strategy serves many seniors well, we are taking this opportunity to make it even better and serve the diverse needs of older New Yorkers. A recent study by the Center for Research on Housing Opportunity, Mobility, and Equity shows that one older New Yorker in three lives with adult children, with most of these families having moved into their current home together. In fact, when older adults relocate later in life, they are more likely to do so alongside family members, highlighting the growing need for more flexible housing models that support families staying together.
The new rules require that in Limited Affordability Areas (LAAs; neighborhoods with few deeply affordable homes), any new SARA project must include at least 20% two-bedroom units to accommodate multigenerational households and promote intergenerational living. Developers will also now have the option to include 20% two-bedroom units as part of a broader shift toward more flexible, inclusive housing design. This is big news for New York, and we’re excited for this change to be incorporated into new construction proposals.
When we think about older adults, we must think about the city we are enjoying today and trying to preserve and improve for future generations. These are the small-business owners, first responders, educators, activists, and neighbors who have shaped the cultural and civic fabric of our city and whose continued presence strengthens the communities they helped to build. The new updates will make the SARA program even more effective. These changes ensure that in the future, shifts in family responsibilities or life circumstances will not present a barrier to accessing housing opportunities in this program. More people will now have the chance to live out their golden years in safe, affordable homes — and to age with the dignity and grace they deserve.
We understand that our mission goes beyond just building and preserving apartments — it’s about creating opportunities and environments where individuals and families can come together and thrive during every stage of life. That’s why we’ve also proudly participated in the City Cabinet for Older New Yorkers — a multi-agency initiative launched in 2022 to ensure our systems, policies, and operations better reflect the needs of an aging population. We’ve also supported the city’s community resiliency initiatives and, most recently, partnered with the Department of Buildings to launch the Opening Doors Innovation Challenge, an effort to solicit input and feedback to promote innovative industry solutions for improving accessibility in residential, business, and commercial spaces across the city.
As we continue to tackle today’s urgent housing challenges, the goal of this multi-pronged approach is to support multigenerational needs and embrace New Yorkers at every age. As we work to make every unit universally accessible, we will not stand idle and will put our existing tools to use to solve the problems we are seeing today. We stand on the foundation built by the generations before us; now, it’s our turn to build a better future for them and for those who follow.
Ahmed Tigani is the acting commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Would be nice to have identified the city neighborhoods across the five boroughs where these LAAs exist and how rising inflation in an era of increasing economic uncertainty for vulnerable senior citizens affects the implementation of these awesome ideas, the timeline, the political will, etc. There are also increasing numbers of homeless seniors. Given that the number of single adults aged 65 and older in the city’s main shelter system has more than doubled between 2014 and 2022, and the lack of political courage displayed by a corrupt mayoral administration, I don’t really think the power brokers care about homeless seniors, possibly the most vulnerable seniors in this proud city.