New York City received more than seven million applications last year for about 10,000 affordable apartments. But despite the extraordinary demand, the units often remain empty for months as potential tenants are selected by a plodding government bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
One by one, the apartments are awarded to a lucky few who win a lottery, fill out a raft of paperwork and submit to extensive vetting. The painstaking process typically takes almost seven months, according to city data.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s administration announced a host of changes designed to significantly speed up the leasing process, reducing the median amount of time these apartments remain empty to less than three months.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that in this city, the most expensive city in the United States of America, time is money,\u201d Mr. Mamdani said during the announcement, which was held at a high school in the Bronx. \u201cIt is now our job to cut that time down, to make it easier for New Yorkers to not just find new housing but to move into it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
City housing officials say some of the changes can be made by the end of the year, including shortening the period during which applications are accepted from 60 days to 21; simplifying the number and types of documents needed to verify prospective tenants\u2019 incomes; and reducing the number of apartment inspections required by different government programs, such as the city housing voucher program.<\/p>\n
The city is also making longer-term improvements to the process, expected to be put in place within the next two years. They include verifying prospective tenants\u2019 incomes even before they apply for apartments; allowing applicants to prioritize neighborhoods they wish to live in; and using federal household data to speed up the vetting process.<\/p>\n
None of the proposals require changes to city or state law, said Dina Levy, the commissioner of the city\u2019s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is unequivocally taking too long to lease up the buildings,\u201d she said, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s insane. You\u2019ve got people really hungry for housing; you\u2019ve got owners carrying interest on the loans they took to build these buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n
The changes were announced on Wednesday in a broader report focused on ways to promote the development of affordable housing in the city.<\/p>\n
Mr. Mamdani created the task force behind the report on his first day in office<\/a>, as part of a push to find ways to reduce red tape.<\/p>\n The announcement comes as a housing crisis continues to squeeze the city. An extreme shortage of available apartments is pushing rents up, contributing to an exodus of working-class people and threatening the city\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n The Mamdani administration has made housing a centerpiece of its agenda. The mayor said on Tuesday, as he announced his executive budget<\/a>, that he planned to invest an additional $4 billion in capital funding for the housing department over five years.<\/p>\n The administration is finalizing a broader housing plan, which could be released as soon as this month and is likely to show how Mr. Mamdani plans to encourage development and address issues that affect tenants.<\/p>\n And earlier this month, a panel that regulates rents for nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments signaled that it would be open to freezing them<\/a>, moving closer to delivering on one of Mr. Mamdani\u2019s key campaign promises.<\/p>\n Many housing experts and advocates have long criticized the way New York City doles out the limited number of affordable units that are available.<\/p>\n