Governor Hochul Announces Nearly $45 Million to Create and Improv...

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced $44.7 million in funding has been awarded across three New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) programs to create and rehabilitate more than 420 rental homes. The investment includes $24 million for 291 homes as part of HCR's Vacant Rental Program, which transforms vacant and uninhabitable apartments into affordable homes.

"New York is committed to using all tools in its toolbox when it comes to housing affordability," Governor Hochul said. "The Vacant Rental Program is a great example of how we can transform underutilized spaces to create homes that hundreds of households in communities across New York will be able to afford."

The Vacant Rental Program was created as part of the FY25 Enacted Budget to support renovations of buildings with up to five vacant and distressed rental units into viable affordable housing for low- and moderate-income tenants in communities outside of New York City. The funding was awarded to 19 non-profits and local governments to assist property owners with the renovations.

Property owners that provide apartments for households earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income will receive up to $50,000 in subsidy per unit, and up to $75,000 per unit for apartments for households earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income. Today's announcement is the final round of funding for the program during Fiscal Year 2026 - an earlier investment of $16.2 million was awarded during the previous fiscal year.

The awarded partners are:

• $300,000 to Allegany County Community Opportunities and Rural Development for four units across Allegany County.
• $1.57 million to Affordable Housing Partnership of the Capital Region for 19 units across Albany County.
• $1 million to Albany County Rural Housing Alliance for 12 units across Albany County.
• $2.3 million to Broadway Fillmore Neighborhood Housing Services for 28 units in the city of Buffalo.
• $1.11 million to Broome County Land Bank Corporation for 14 units across Broome County.
• $2.3 million to Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency for 28 units across the city of Buffalo.
• $1 million to Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation for 12 units across Chautauqua County.
• $654,000 to the City of Elmira for eight units across Elmira.
• $645,000 to the City of Glens Falls for eight units across Warren County.
• $300,000 to the City of Jamestown for four units across Jamestown.
• $750,000 to Development Chenango Corporation for nine units across Chenango County.
• $2.3 million to East Buffalo Development Corporation for 28 units across East Buffalo.
• $2.3 million to Home HeadQuarters for 28 units across the city of Syracuse.
• $300,000 to Onondaga County for four units across Onondaga County.
• $300,000 to Ontario County Economic Development Corporation for four units across Ontario County.
• $1.7 million to Oswego Housing Development Corporation for 21 units across Oswego County.
• $1.9 million to PRIDE of Ticonderoga (d.b.a. North Country Rural Development Coalition) for 23 units across Warren, Washington, Essex, Hamilton, and Clinton Counties.
• $2.3 million to RUPCO for 28 units across Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, Westchester, and Sullivan Counties.
• $750,000 to Tioga County Property Development Corporation for nine units across Tioga County.

The investment also includes $10.7 million for 62 homes as part of HCR's Small Rental Development Initiative, which supports the creation and preservation of multifamily rental developments with five to 20 apartments. Funding is awarded to non-profit organizations that own, develop, and manage small rental development housing. The homes will be affordable to households earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

The awarded partners are:

• $1.6 million to Shore/iCare for 19 Greenridge Avenue, a six-unit building in the city of White Plains.
• $1.3 million to Sisters of Charity for 200 Tremper Avenue, a six-unit building in the city of Kingston.
• $2.5 million to Nazareth Housing for 406 E 184th Street, a 20-unit building in the Bronx.
• $833,669 to Blue Mountain for 7 Katonah Avenue, a 4-unit affordable building in Katonah, Town of Bedford.
• $2.5 million to FAC Inc. for 573 Warren Street, a 16-unit building in Brooklyn.
• $1.9 million to RUPCO for The Wellington, a 10-unit building in Pine Hill, Town of Shandaken.

More than $10 million was also awarded for three projects as part of HCR's Small Buildings Participation Loan Program, which assists in financing buildings with between five and 50 units. All of the projects will be affordable to households earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

The awarded projects are:

• $2 million for Church House on Seneca, which will transform a former church complex in the city of Buffalo into 15 homes.
• $4.8 million for Salina 1st, a new 32-unit building in the city of Syracuse.
• $3.3 million for renovations at 40-42 South Street, a 22-unit building in the city of Auburn.

The Vacant Rental Program, Small Rental Development Initiative, and Small Buildings Participation Loan Program are part of Governor Hochul's $25 billion five-year Housing Plan, which is on track to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, "This $44.7 million investment across three of our programs will improve affordability and utilize the potential of vacant buildings throughout New York. We look forward to working with our local partners and developers as these projects progress."

City of Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan said, "This is exactly the kind of work I wanted to see when I proposed the Vacant Rental Program in the State Senate as part of my City of Good Neighborhoods plan. We have too many properties in Buffalo that have been left vacant because small landlords simply don't have the resources to get them back on the market. This program gives them a path to bring those units back online, expand our supply of quality affordable housing, and bring life back to our neighborhoods."

Governor Hochul's Housing Agenda

Governor Hochul is dedicated to addressing New York's housing crisis and making the State more affordable and livable for all New Yorkers. Since FY23, the Governor has worked to increase housing supply to make housing more affordable by launching a $25 billion five-year comprehensive Housing Plan, enacted the most significant housing deal in decades and implemented new protections for renters and homeowners. Under Governor Hochul's leadership, HCR has created new programs that jumpstart development of affordable and mixed-income homes - for both renters and homebuyers. These include the Pro-Housing Community Program, which allows certified localities exclusive access to up to $750 million in discretionary State funding. More than 410 communities throughout the state have been certified Pro-Housing.

As part of Governor Hochul's 2026 State of the State, the Governor proposed her "Let Them Build" agenda, a series of landmark reforms to speed up housing and infrastructure development and lower costs. This initiative will spur a series of common-sense reforms to New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and executive actions to expedite critical categories of projects that have been consistently found to not have significant environmental impacts, but for too long have been caught up in red tape and subject to lengthy delays.

The FY27 Executive Budget completes the Governor's current five-year Housing Plan to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide, including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes. More than 81,000 affordable homes have been created or preserved to date. The Executive Budget also invests $250 million in capital funding to accelerate the construction of thousands of new affordable homes.