Federal Home Loan Bank of New York Awards 36 Million for 42 Affordable Housing Initiatives
Projects will create, rehabilitate or preserve nearly 2,900 affordable housing units
New York, NY – José R. González, president and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, announced that the Bank has awarded $36.9 million in subsidies to fund 42 affordable housing initiatives throughout New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. These awards are funded through the Bank’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP), and will result in the creation or rehabilitation of 2,890 affordable housing units, including 2,002 units dedicated to very low-income housing. The awards will not only help provide housing, but also drive community development: it is anticipated that more than $600 million will be leveraged in housing investment from the development of these initiatives.
One of the 42 awards is going to Project Freedom Inc. for its Freedom Village at Gibbsboro initiative for 72 wheelchair-accessible affordable apartments with one-, two-, and, three-bedrooms.
“Our Affordable Housing Program is central to our mission to advance housing opportunity and local community development,” said Mr. González. “Affordable housing is the work of many hands, and it has been our privilege to support this work through the AHP for more than 25 years. The grants we announce today – the second-highest annual award amount since we began making AHP grants – will allow us to join with our members to make contributions to communities across our District that are both significant and lasting.”
The $36.9 million in grants represent a portion of the AHP funds that are drawn from the Bank’s earnings. As mandated by Congress, the Bank forgoes 10 percent of its earnings each year to support these neighborhood housing and economic development initiatives.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York’s AHP provides member-lenders with direct subsidies which are passed on to income-qualified households through sponsoring local community-based organizations. AHP financing is combined with other funding sources to create housing for moderate-, low- and very low-income families. Program awardees receive this funding through a competitive application process. Each competing project must be sponsored by a financial organization that is a member of the Bank in partnership with a community-based sponsoring organization.
The AHP was created by Congress in 1989, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks have awarded more than $5.4 billion in AHP funds since the first awards were granted in 1990. At the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, the AHP has supported 1,530 projects with more than $580 million in grants, helping to create or preserve nearly 70,000 units of affordable housing and generating an estimated $10 billion in total development costs.