BILL NUMBER: S8235
SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to increas-
ing the bonding authority of the New York city housing development
corporation
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill would authorize the New York City Housing
Development Corporation ("HDC" or the "Corporation") to increase the
maximum aggregate principal amount of its outstanding notes and bonds
from $19 billion to $20 billion.
Section two would provide that this bill takes effect immediately.
 
REASONS FOR SUPPORT:
HDC is the nation's largest municipal housing finance agency and annual-
ly ranks among the nation's top issuers of mortgage revenue bonds for
affordable multi-family housing. HDC is responsible for issuing tax-ex-
empt, taxable, and recycled tax-exempt bonds in order to advance the
City's affordable housing priorities. Since 2003, HDC has financed more
than 201,000 housing units using over $29 billion in bonds and other
debt obligations.
By the end of December 2024, HDC had approximately $17.3 billion of
bonds sold or outstanding. The Corporation expects to issue approximate-
ly $2.3 billion in bonds during calendar year 2025, and anticipates
exceeding its bonding authority by September 2025. Increasing HDC's
bonding authority by $1 billion is necessary to ensure that HDC is able
to continue financing affordable housing in New York City. An increase
to HDC's bond cap will enable HDC to continue its mission to expand and
preserve the City's supply of affordable and public housing, which is
more critical than ever in the wake of the pandemic.
HDC bond issuances are crucial to the creation of new housing that
serves some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including our aging
seniors, formerly homeless, and lowest-income households; to preserving
the affordability and long-term financial and physical health of the
existing affordable housing stock, including the City's Mitchell-Lama
developments; and to investing in much-needed improvements to the City's
aging public housing, while ensuring lasting protections for residents.
The City has long faced a dire affordable housing crisis, resulting in a
lengthy pipeline of housing projects in need of financing. As the City's
affordable housing needs continue to grow, HDC requires regular
increases to its bonding authority. The $1 billion increase sought this
year will support the creation and preservation of much-needed afforda-
ble rental and homeownership opportunities, while further helping to
stimulate a recovering economy through job creation.
Accordingly, the Mayor urges the earliest possible favorable consider-
ation of this proposal by the Legislature.

Statutes affected:
S8235: 656 private housing finance law, 656(1) private housing finance law