New York City is facing an affordable housing crisis of staggering proportions. Crying prices strip about 1.4 percent. Moderate income families are sold at fair prices. However, in May 2025, when the Housing and Preservation Department (HPD) announced that it would stop processing all new applications for section 610 of the Private Finance Act, the city abandoned the policy that had been in effect.
Section 610, signed Governor by Governor Kathy Hochul in December 2022, represented an extraordinary time for policy innovation that benefits everyone involved. The law allows the owners of low-cost houses that have been recalled to collect the full amount of housing vouchers that are legal and in place, even if that amount goes through the official legal registration, without increasing the tenants pay. Employers continue to pay only 30 percent of their income from employment. Building owners receive additional income to cover operating costs and building maintenance. The government is increasing the number of its existing subsidy programs. It was an excellent policy design: Conserving the available income while preventing the deterioration of the affordable housing stock we already have.
So HPD he pulled the plug, withholding federal funding. While he kept that day with the amendments that have already been approved can continue to work under section 610, the agency announced that it will no longer be able to process new permits for the city at high risk: City Combating Home Management Services (Cityfheps) and HIV / AIDS Service Administration (hasa).
This decision shows the fundamental inconsistency that section 610 has achieved. The plan does not create new government obligations; It simply allows existing funding dollars to flow properly to where they are made. When the voucher holder proceeds to building 610, the city is there it is already a responsibility to pay that subsidy. The difference lies in whether those dollars are allocated to maintaining high-quality, affordable housing or are pressured by registered custom taxes that leave properties that are financially controversial.
Think about the reality you face with affordable housing providers. Insurance costs have SkyrocalCockent. Excise duty continues to rise. Labor and material costs for repairs. Meanwhile, developers who built affordable housing under regulatory agreements years ago are locked into rental comps that no longer reflect the economics of construction. Some are like that Collecting only 93 percent of the tax compared to the 95 percent they write down, aND those projections were considered conservative before 2020.
Except for section 610, these structures face a slow death in the wind. Insufficient cash flow means wasted maintenance. Dismissed repairs lead to building damage. The downturn is causing the displacement of tenants and the loss of affordable units from the city’s stock. We’ve seen this story play out countless times in all five locations.
Section 610 provided a way of life. By allowing buildings to capture the full value of the voucher, it provides the financial breathing room needed to maintain buildings, make necessary repairs, and remain an effective participant in affordable housing programs. This was not the spirit of the owners, but the natural survival of expensive housing.
HPD’s pledge, Fully Federal funding, rings hollow. Federal voucher programs that section 610 will be reallocated. This is an existing commitment. If HPD is concerned about budget issues, the solution is to prioritize which construction gets section 610 approval based on demonstrated need, not to close the program entirely to new applicants.
Plus, the timing couldn’t be worse. New York is in the midst of implementing its most ambitious housing agenda in decades. The city of YES that housing opportunity aims to create new homes for all curtains. The 485-X Tax Incentive is designed to encourage the construction of affordable housing. But what good are the new inexpensive units if we allow at the same time the valid of the existing stock to be cleaned with defective monitors?
The design of the policy already includes safeguards. Regulatory agencies evaluate project finances to prioritize buildings with the greatest need. The plan requires that tax stability protections remain in place. If the employer loses their voucher, the tax must be reduced back to the statutory amount regulated. These provisions ensure that section 610 serves its intended purpose: preservation of available income, not profit maximization.
HPD says it will continue to approve NYCHA TETANTER- and project-based vouchers and emergency housing vouchers. But this prevalence is not enough. CityfHheps and FHEPS serve thousands of New Yorkers, including families with children and people experiencing homelessness. Hasa vouchers support people living with HIV / AIDS. Without these programs from section 610 means the buildings that serve our most vulnerable citizens are the four left without financial support.
What HPD calls uncertainty, housing providers call existential threat. Affordable housing developers who have planned projects around the availability of section 610 are now facing financial gaps. Properties that were in the Pipeline of the application when the suspension of Piew was announced are stuck in Limbo – able to move forward, able to organize money while waiting for bureaucratic clarification while waiting.
The city must reorganize. HPD must be re-opened for Section 610 Section 610 with appropriate prioritization methods based on demonstrated financial need. If Federal budget constraints require reducing the program’s rate limit, then create a transparent waiting list and approval process rather than being closed by controversy. Work with the state legislature to expand and legalize the provisions of section 610.
Most importantly, note that preserving existing affordable housing is just as critical as building new units, and often more expensive. Every dollar spent to fund the fight Inexpensive Section 60 facilities save large investments that can be required to replace those drugs if they are lost.
New York can not afford to implement bureaucratic recognition and budget pessimism pull smart housing policy. Section 610 applies. It should be expanded, not abandoned. The affordable housing crisis calls for bold action, not retreat. HPD should open the doors to both Section 610 and Affordable Housing applications for New York’s new needs.
