In the six months since joining the Department of Housing Preservation & Development, I have marveled at what this agency accomplishes every day and at the incredible potential that lies ahead. I also appreciate the full scope of the housing challenges facing us. New York City has been in the midst of a housing crunch for years — one marked by desperation for families and individuals alike. A vacancy rate of just 1.4% has created an extraordinarily tight market, forcing renters to compete for housing in a city increasingly defined by unaffordability. Competition is even worse for low-income renters, who are often forced to live in deplorable conditions.
Still, there are meaningful signs of progress, with city and state government, community groups, and other stakeholders uniting to address the crisis head-on. Several weeks ago, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Block by Block: The Housing Plan for a New Era. This plan is smart, bold, and reflects the hard work of every division of HPD.
Block by Block sets us on a path to build 200,000 new affordable homes and preserve another 200,000 over the next decade. It dedicates an unprecedented number of units to help New Yorkers move from shelter into permanent housing. It charts an ambitious land use agenda to build affordable housing across every borough.
From the outset, this administration has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to making New York City more affordable. Delivering high-quality, affordable housing while strengthening the diversity and resilience of our neighborhoods is at the forefront of that effort. This determination, building on the commitment of city agencies, nonprofits, developers, and community partners, is cause for optimism. The challenges, however, cannot be underestimated. Beyond the staggering vacancy rate, there is significant fragility in the existing affordable housing stock, both rent-regulated and market-rate. Rising insurance, tax, utility, and operating costs can burden tenants and drive buildings toward insolvency.
That is why, while we remain focused on building and preserving more housing, we must continue expanding successful programs and developing innovative solutions. Our preservation work must include timely support for existing subsidized housing while helping struggling portfolios remain viable within the city’s regulatory framework. We must also reduce unnecessary red tape, lower construction costs so public dollars go further, and test new tools and partnerships to deliver housing faster and at greater scale.
In May, the administration released the SPEED report — a set of reforms to cut affordable housing development timelines by as much as two years by streamlining environmental review, permitting, and lease-up processes across agencies. HPD staff were central to that work.
The mayor also announced initiatives to accelerate housing construction, including the LIFT Task Force to identify city-owned land for affordable housing and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy. These efforts will help advance the important work of our Office of Neighborhood Strategies.
We know that having a roof overhead is not the end of the story. We are equally committed to protecting tenants by strengthening code enforcement, deploying inspectors year-round, and holding negligent property owners accountable. As part of that work, we recently announced expanded enforcement against 250 of the city’s most poorly maintained buildings through our annual Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP), now in its 19th year. Owners are facing increased oversight to address nearly 55,000 open violations and repay nearly $4.5 million in repair costs owed to the city.
New York’s working families know the housing crisis better than anyone, and they want government to use every tool available to build affordable, sustainable housing faster. That urgency must guide our work as we build more housing in every neighborhood, preserve our existing affordable stock, reduce costs where possible, protect tenants from bad actors, and support responsible landlords.
Block by Block doesn’t stand alone. It builds on decades of work by this agency. There is much work ahead, but we have the plan, the tools, and the team to do it.
Dina Levy is the Commissioner of the New York City Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
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Editor’s Note: A previous version of this op-ed incorrectly stated the time at which the Block-by-Block plan was released and also the name of the Office of Neighborhood Strategies.
