The first step in fixing any issue is recognizing that there is a problem in the first place. According to an internal state housing agency memo, New York City has the makings of an affordable housing crisis with more than 61,000 vacant rent-stabilized apartments in 2021 (probably much higher now). Mayor Eric Adams seems to have a plan; it isn’t a good one and the approach is the equivalent of putting a band-aid on a gaping wound, but it’s a plan bound to fail nonetheless. It is called Unlocking Doors—a $10 million program that provides $25,000 for repairs of 400 rent-stabilized apartments (less than 1% of the currently vacant rent-stabilized units) to house those experiencing, or on the brink of, homelessness. To an outsider, this may seem like a good start for a pilot program, so what’s the problem? There are a few:
- $25,000 Isn’t What It Used To Be: $25,000 may fix a few toilets and sinks but it simply isn’t enough to cover the cost of rehabbing most rent-stabilized apartments into modern living standards given higher inflation impacting labor and material costs. Furthermore, with upcoming local laws soon to go into effect that requires emission caps and additional lead-based paint compliance, the $25,000 falls far short of the amount needed when permits alone can cost $10,000.
- Chronically Vacant Standard: To gain access to the Unlocked Doors program, landlords need to show the unit has been “chronically vacant” and has been registered with the state. Waiting for a city agency to provide the “chronically vacant” certification (and whatever interpretation of that phrase the city decides to apply) could take months to obtain and require a mountain of paperwork that would make a data entry clerk blush. This is to say nothing of showing the unit was properly registered with DHCR. If I had a nickel for every incorrectly registered DHCR legal rent, I’d be hobnobbing with Leonardo Dicaprio and Vlad Doronin on a football-field sized yacht off the island of Saint Barthelemy.
- City FHEPs Tenants Only: The newly renovated units must be rented to tenants through the City FHEPS program that provides vouchers to families facing eviction or homelessness but the program already pays landlords for rent stabilized apartments in excess of $2,000 per month for one and two bedrooms without needing to do the repairs so why would landlords bother with this bureaucratic debacle? And because the housing crisis is so acute, it isn’t reasonable to think City FHEPs would hold back on giving out vouchers until a unit has been repaired as that would exacerbate the housing shortage. Of course, there’s no shortage of ill-conceived ideas by those that make the rules so who’s to say for sure?
- Pay Now, City Reimburses Later: The Unlocked Doors program will not provide the renovation funds upfront; instead, it will reimburse landlords for qualifying expenses only after repairs are completed and reviewed by HPD. Oh boy, if ever a case could be made for counterparty risk, this is it! Imagine shelling out $25,000 to repair your unit after waiting a year to have the apartment declared “chronically vacant” only to wait another year for the city to review and sign off on the repair work, taking the chance that they don’t because you failed to obtain a property conditions report they didn’t tell you was needed at the time before the work was commenced. Add the 7% inflationary environment we are experiencing and this seems like a program suitable only for thrill seeking economically reckless landlords with lots of time and little to do. No thanks.
To NYC’s Chief Housing Officer, Jessica Katz, who declared that this pilot program “demonstrates this administration’s commitment to housing New Yorkers experiencing homelessness,” I respectfully demur in suggesting you missed the mark. This program neither “improves the quality of [the city’s] housing stock” nor provides “incentives to property owners to make vacant units available for the lowest-income New Yorkers.” Back to the drawing board, the people of New York and especially the most economically vulnerable, need city officials to do better. Until then, the doors are likely to remain locked.
Dilakian, Steven. “NYC to Fund Repairs at 400 Vacant, Rent-Stabilized Apartments.” The Real Deal, 19 Apr. 2023, therealdeal.com/new-york/2023/04/19/city-to-fund-repairs-to-vacant-rent-stabilized-apartments/.Leave a Comment