Furman Center Launches Free Database of NYC Subsidized Housing

A brand-new database that consolidates information on subsidized housing from 50 separate public and private data sources is now available to the public in one searchable website.

The interactive site, a part of the Subsidized Housing Information Project (SHIP), includes extensive information on nearly 235,000 units of privately-owned subsidized rental housing in New York City—the most comprehensive overview of subsidized housing in New York City.

New York University's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy and its Institute for Affordable Housing Policy launched the project on Thursday, the result of an ongoing, multi-year partnership with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The project has the support of the New York City Council which hopes to encourage the use of the database by community-based organizations to protect affordable housing units at-risk of expiring.

“The Subsidized Housing Information Project is an invaluable tool that will serve as a red alert system for affordable housing by making tenants aware of when their protections are set to run out,” said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn.

“This comprehensive database will help preserve affordable housing in New York City by allowing us to track at-risk subsidized housing units and ensuring tenants, community organizations and the Council have enough time to anticipate and develop preservation strategies to protect our affordable housing assets."

The preservation of the city’s affordable housing stock has been a principal tenet of Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP), the most ambitious municipal housing plan in the nation.

NHMP is set to finance the preservation and creation of as many as 165,000 units of affordable housing. To date, HPD and HDC have financed more than 124,500 units, and are on track to complete the NHMP by Fiscal Year 2014.

The SHIP database will augment the current preservation strategy by improving access to cross-agency information and data, and enhance relationships between governmental and non-governmental partners who are working toward creating short- and long-term preservation strategies.

“While we must find ways to increase the amount of affordable housing available for New Yorkers, it is also critical that our city not lose any of its existing affordable housing stock,” said Council Member Al Vann. “This database will arm policymakers, advocates and the public with the information necessary to develop effective strategies for the protection of existing affordable housing.”