Margert in the News

Housing Program on Track Amid Financing Concerns
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November 10, 2007
By MANNY FERNANDEZ

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is on track toward achieving his plan of creating or preserving 165,000 units of housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers by 2013, but financing is likely to pose a challenge in the coming years, according to a report released yesterday by the city’s Independent Budget Office.

The mayor’s plan began in July 2003 with a goal of providing 65,000 lower-cost units by 2008. In February 2006, Mr. Bloomberg expanded the program into the largest plan of its kind in the nation’s history, city officials said.

The report found that four years into the 10-year plan, nearly 40 percent of the 165,000 units, or 64,408 units, had been financed, and $2.5 billion of the program’s $7.5 billion cost had been spent through 2007. Production has averaged nearly 18,000 units per year in the last three years, a rate that if sustained for six more years would reach the mayor’s goal, the report stated.

“The fact that we’re nearly 40 percent of the way through after four years is a recognition that we’re delivering on our promises,” said Shaun Donovan, commissioner of the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. “The initial goal was 65,000 in five years, and we did it in four.”

Advocates for low-income housing praised the mayor and city officials but expressed concerns that the numbers were dwarfed by the rapid loss of the city’s overall supply of lower-priced housing.

Thousands of units have been lost as landlords have left the state’s Mitchell-Lama program and other subsidy programs to seek higher profits. A 2005 study by the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University found that the number of rentals affordable to households earning 80 percent of the city’s median income, or $33,203, fell by nearly 205,000 units between 2002 and 2005.

The Independent Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency, reviewed the mayor’s plan at the request of two housing and civic groups, Housing First and the Women’s City Club of New York.

David M. Muchnick, coordinator of Housing First, a coalition of builders, nonprofit developers, community groups and others, said he was pleased with the progress the city had made, but said the report raised concerns.

The report found that uncertainty remained over the ability of the Housing Development Corporation to finance thousands of new units. According to the report, the agency had planned to use $548 million from its reserves to help finance 42,000 units, but had already used $493 million to fund 30,838 units. The report said the agency was facing a shortfall of $130 million.

Mr. Donovan said that the budget office had misunderstood the corporation’s financial status, and that there was more than $130 million in reserve.

The report and Mr. Donovan both pointed out another uncertain element of the plan’s financing: the need for tax-exempt bonds allocated to the state by the federal government has outpaced the supply. Mr. Donovan and other city and state officials have asked Congress to increase the state’s allocation, saying that the lack of bond volume capacity threatens to slow the growth of lower-cost housing development.

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

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Record Home Foreclosures Cause Snow Removal Problems
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KSTP-TV Channel 5

Posted at: 12/03/2007 09:03:43 PM
By: Nicole Muehlhausen, Web Producer

Watch the Video

The snow brings a new problem with the high number of foreclosures in the Twin Cities. All those empty homes mean no one is around to clear the sidewalks.

Kathy Nitschke shovels out her own property, but sees that no one is looking after the vacant home in her Minneapolis neighborhood.

"A lot of traffic through here, so it's unfortunate when they don't clean things up," said Nitschke.

In Minneapolis, there are 50 percent more homes in foreclosures this year than last. In St. Paul, there are four times more vacant homes than in 2006.

It means more work for the city - both Minneapolis and St. Paul have a rule, stating snow must be cleared within 24 hours.

If a sidewalk stays covered in snow for more than a day, a letter is mailed to the address. If nothing happens, city crews come and do the work. The city of St. Paul charges $160 an hour, while Minneapolis charges $300 an hour - plus a $103 citation.

"We only have limited resources to do the work," said Minneapolis city spokesman Mike Kennedy.

If there are no homeowners to pay the snow removal costs, it will be forwarded to the bank that owns the foreclosed home.

The city of Minneapolis told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS it answered more than 100 calls reporting snow-covered sidewalks on Monday alone.

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Clinton Foundation, New York City Partner to Improve Energy Efficiency of Public Housing
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The New York City-based William J. Clinton Foundation has announced a partnership with the New York City Housing Authority to conduct building retrofits across NYCHA's public housing stock as part of the Clinton Climate Initiative.

Working with CCI, a NYCHA task force will develop a multiyear energy plan that includes a timeline and milestones for implementation. CCI and NYCHA will work to forge agreements with energy service companies, banks, product suppliers, and green building organizations to enable retrofits to be completed efficiently, quickly, and inexpensively. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City of New York have also committed support to the program, which will advance PlaNYC 2030 and the mayor's vision for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

NYCHA houses more than 400,000 low- and moderate-income residents and is the largest public housing authority in North America, containing nearly 11 percent of the entire public housing stock in the United States.

"I'm pleased to be working with Mayor Bloomberg, [HUD] Secretary [Alphonso] Jackson, and the New York City Housing Authority on this program as part of my foundation's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the world," said Clinton. "This is a step in the right direction in the fight against climate change that will reduce New York City's carbon footprint, while saving money for taxpayers and residents at the same time."

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Governor Spitzer Announces Grants to Reduce Home Heating Costs
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Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced that more than $3 million in energy conservation grants will go to community organizations for weatherization projects that will reduce heating costs for more than 1,400 families across New York.

The funds will be used to: implement energy conservation measures in the homes of income-eligible persons, especially the elderly, persons with disabilities and children; and lower energy costs in publicly-assisted housing and to promote additional coordination with State and federally-funded housing rehabilitation programs. These weatherization awards will be funded through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) to meet energy conservation needs.

"With winter upon us, it is imperative the State be there to help all New Yorkers provide the most basic necessities for themselves and their families," said Governor Spitzer. "These grants also support the State's energy conservation efforts, by decreasing our energy consumption and dependence on foreign fossil fuels, reducing energy costs for consumers and businesses, and protecting our environment through lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution."