New York City has modernized its housing stock before. How will we do it this time?
New York City has established rigorous standards for the important objectives of maintaining and upgrading of its existing housing – from façade maintenance to remediation of lead-based paint to energy efficiency and electrification. These requirements have been layered on top of the existing maintenance and capital needs for an aging building stock, largely without financial relief. And the cost of operating housing, even in the absence of substantial upgrades, continues to rise, even as the city struggles with a housing affordability crisis.
The cost of compliance with rigorous standards exacerbates financial challenges for the city’s housing, particularly for older multifamily properties in poor condition and with insufficient reserves to meet statutory demands. Current financial conditions have largely eliminated the option of refinancing, which until recently presented an avenue for some building owners to support these types of costs. Owners are left with few options to fund rehabilitation work or energy efficiency upgrades other than passing them on to residents or reducing services.
We must find ways to bridge the growing gap between our aspirations for a well maintained, affordable and sustainable building stock and the resources available to achieve this.
It’s useful to recall that the need to upgrade our housing stock is not entirely novel. In previous eras, public policy drove investment in upgrades that achieved new standards for health and safety, including improvements to sanitary facilities and fire safety.
With this project, CHPC will illuminate the implications of increasing costs, existing and past tools created to enable different types of buildings to support important upgrades, gaps in this landscape, and potential public policy measures to bridge them.
Play the Life of a Building game to experience the challenges of keeping an old rental building in good financial and physical health.
Utilizing Seven National Tenant Engagement Standards from the UK, CHPC has developed a toolkit of options for how public housing residents could productively participate in property management after a PACT conversion.
Enforcement of New York City's building codes and the codes themselves may seem impartial, but they contribute to the inequities experienced by many New Yorkers.
