NY Observer > Department of Housing Preservation and Development

City Boasts Low Foreclosure Rate in Housing Plan Update

Eliot Brown — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:13:04 -0400

Mayor Bloomberg and Shaun Donovan, commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, today announced that the city's 10-year plan [PDF] to build or preserve 165,000 units of below-market rate housing has hit is midpoint, with 82,500 units financed [press release here].

Among the stats the city highlighted was its strikingly low foreclosure rate. Of the 17,109 homeownership units in the plan (most are rental, similar to the overall ratio citywide), just five have faced foreclosure.

Why?

The city keeps its owners on a shorter leash than the private market, steering buyers clear of subprime mortgages and other loans that could allow them to be overextended. read more »

2007 A Big, Big Year for Building Permits

Eliot Brown — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:37:30 -0500

Last year was one of the busiest years for residential development in New York’s recent history, with permits issued for 31,918 privately owned housing units, according to data from the U.S. Census. The city’s departments of Housing Preservation and Development and of Buildings announced the numbers today, saying 2007 saw the second highest number of housing-unit permits issued since 1965, when modern permit records began.

According to HPD, 2006 saw permits issued for 30,927 units, while 31,599 permits were issued in 2005. read more »

City Throws Slumlord in Jail (For Nine Days) [UPDATED]

Eliot Brown — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:33:46 -0500

The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development has scored a victory against Bronx landlord Hamid Khan, responsible for more than 2,000 housing violations at one property, as a judge sentenced him late last month to nine days in jail and ordered him to pay $156,000 in penalties, according to HPD. The city agency announced the decision today after squaring away details related to his jail time.

Mr. Khan owns the 94-unit 1055 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard in the Bronx, which currently has 2,268 Housing Maintenance Code violations. Mr. Khan is the first landlord since 2006 to go to jail, when a Brooklyn landlord was placed in civil contempt for violations at his properties. read more »

Targets for Affordable Housing Drop, But City Says Its Plan Still On Track

Lysandra Ohrstrom and Eliot Brown — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:49:07 -0500

As the economic climate grows gloomier, the Bloomberg administration is predicting a drop in the amount of affordable housing to be produced in the coming years, according to figures in the latest Mayor’s Management Report, released yesterday. The lowered estimates, however, do not yet jeopardize the mayor’s ambitious plan to create 92,000 new affordable units by 2013, the city says. read more »