NYSHFA and NYSAHC approve $357 million to build and renovate affordable housing units in NYS

According to governor David Paterson, $357 million in grants and financings have been approved to build and renovate 1,149 affordable housing units across the state. Many of the units will be designed to be energy efficient and will include LEED green design and construction features and Energy Star appliances. The approvals were made by the boards of the NYS Housing Finance Agency (HFA) and its subsidiary, the NYS Affordable Housing Corp. (AHC). Funding for second mortgages for several of these projects will come from the $304.2 million funding for NYS' housing programs approved this past April by Paterson and the state legislature as part of the enacted budget. The projects are as follows: New York City HFA approved up to $315 million in taxable and tax-exempt bonds to finance an 80/20 project in the Hudson Yards section of Manhattan, in which 20% of the units will be aside for low-income tenants. The 569-unit project will be located at 320 West 38th St. and include 120 affordable units. The building has been registered for LEED certification because of its green elements. AHC approved four grants in the city: * A $400,000 grant to Neighborhood Housing Services of N.Y.C. to finance home improvements for 85 housing units in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. * A $1.575 million grant to the Housing Partnership Development Corp. to finance 21 new two-family homes in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and Ocean Hill/Brownsville sections of Brooklyn. The homes will include energy-saving features, including energy efficient lighting systems and cool roofs that deflect heat and sunlight. * A $505,000 grant to the Housing Partnership to finance the construction of a 27-unit, seven-story co-op apartment building in the East Harlem section of Manhattan. * A $160,000 grant to the Housing Partnership and Habitat for Humanity-N.Y.C. to finance the construction of a four-story building with four affordable condos in central Harlem, Manhattan. Long Island AHC approved a $240,000 grant to the town of Hempstead to finance the construction of six single-family affordable homes in the Hamlet of Roosevelt. Westchester County HFA approved the issuance of tax-exempt bonds to fund an $11.75 million mortgage that will finance capital improvements at the College Arms Apartments, a 164-unit federally-financed affordable apartment building located in the village of Sleepy Hollow. AHC approved a $300,000 grant to the Housing Action Council for home improvements on 22 homes throughout Westchester County. Schenectady County AHC approved a $400,000 grant to Better Neighborhoods, Inc. to finance the construction of ten single-family affordable and environmentally efficient homes in the Vale and Hamilton Hill sections of Schenectady. The grant will help finance the Schenectady Universal Green Affordable Housing Program, in which the new homes incorporate features that make them 30% more energy efficient. Monroe County HFA approved financings to renovate two Mitchell Lama projects in Rochester: * A $7.8 million first mortgage and a $5 million second mortgage to finance the acquisition and re-habilitation of St. Simon's Terrace, a 256-unit Mitchell Lama located at 360 St. Paul St. * A $10 million first mortgage and a $2.75 million second mortgage to finance capital improvements at the Hamilton Apartments, a 203-unit Mitchell Lama located at 185 Mount Hope Ave. Western New York AHC approved a $600,000 grant to the Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation to help repair 112 housing units located in 13 counties in western New York. Grants will be made available for homeowners in Allegany, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates counties. Erie County AHC approved two grants for Erie County: * A $200,000 grant to Amherst to finance improvements on 40 single-family homes. * A $150,000 grant to the Southtowns Rural Preservation Company, Inc. to finance home improvements for 25 single-family homes located in southern Erie County. Niagara County AHC approved a $260,000 grant to the Center City Neighborhood Development Corp. to finance home improvements for 30 single-family homes located in the Center City section of Niagara Falls. Chautauqua County AHC approved a $105,000 grant to the Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation to acquire and rehabilitate three vacant single-family homes located in the North Side neighborhood in Jamestown.