The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the department of the

government of New York City The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...

responsible for developing and maintaining the city's stock of

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

. Its regulations are compiled in title 28 of the ''

New York City Rules The ''Rules of the City of New York'' (RCNY) contains the compiled rules and regulations (delegated legislation) of New York City government agencies. It contains approximately 6,000 rules and regulations in 71 titles, each covering a different ci ...

''. The Department is headed by a Commissioner, who is appointed by and reports directly to the

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

. The current Acting Commissioner of HPD is Ahmed Tigani. Other former HPD Commissioners have included

Adolfo Carrión Jr. Adolfo Carrión Jr. (born March 6, 1961) is an American businessman and former elected official from City Island. He served one term as a member of the New York City Council, representing the 14th district. He served for seven years as the boro ...

Maria Torres-Springer Maria Torres-Springer (born January 24, 1977) is an American government official and former nonprofit executive who was the First Deputy Mayor of New York City from October 8, 2024 to March 14, 2025. Previously the vice president for U.S. progra ...

Vicki Been Vicki L. Been is an American lawyer, public servant, and professor who served as the Deputy Mayor of New York City for Housing and Economic Development from April 2019 to December 2021. She previously served as commissioner of the New York City ...

, Jerilyn Perine, Richard Roberts and

Shaun Donovan Shaun Lawrence Sarda Donovan (born January 24, 1966) is an American government official and housing specialist who served as the 15th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 2009 to 2014, and Director of the US Office of M ...

, among others. HPD is headquartered in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

, and includes smaller branch offices in each of the city's five boroughs.

Overview

Established in 1978 in the wake of Local Law 45 of 1976, the Department is the largest municipal developer of

affordable housing in the United States The term "affordable housing" refers to housing that is considered economically accessible for individuals and families whose household income falls at or below the Area Median Income (AMI), as evaluated by either national or local government aut ...

. HPD is currently in the midst of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's Housing New York initiative to create and preserve 300,000 units of affordable housing by 2026. By the end of 2021, the City of New York financed more than 200,000 affordable homes since 2014, breaking the all-time record previously set by former Mayor Ed Koch. The Agency also enforces the City's Housing Maintenance Code, which covers heat and hot water, mold, pests, gas leaks, fire safety, and more. HPD performs over 500,000 inspections annually and uses a variety of other Code Enforcement tools to address building conditions from performing owner outreach to bringing cases in Housing Court to performing emergency repairs. Lastly, the Agency engages neighborhoods in planning, working with other City agencies and communities to plan for the preservation and development of affordable housing to foster more equitable, diverse, and livable neighborhoods.

Third Party Transfer program

Since 1996, the Department of Housing and Preservation has operated a Third Party Transfer Program (TPT), in which it transfers "derelict, tax-delinquent buildings to nonprofits that could rehabilitate and manage them." Beginning under

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...

, the program ostensibly benefits the working class and frees the city from ownership or responsibility for tenants. However, the DHP has been criticized for relatively blunt treatment of what it considers "'distressed properties' in 'blighted' areas". If the DHP transfers title to one building under TPT, then it will also apply the same treatment to "every other building in the same tax block with a lien—even for a few hundred dollars".

Controversy

A report analyzing the program for Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration argued that the program abused its powers, applying them even in situations other than the tangled title phenomena for which the program had been originally conceived. According to the report, DHP and the

New York City Department of Finance The New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is the revenue service, taxation agency and recorder of deeds of the government of New York City. Its Parking Violations Bureau is an administrative court that adjudicates parking violations, while its ...

"target dand t oknumerous Black and Brown owned properties...thus stripping these communities of millions of dollars of generational wealth". According to

Ritchie Torres Ritchie John Torres (born March 12, 1988) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served on the New York City Council from 2014 to 2020. His congression ...

, "TPT is quite different from and far harsher than a typical foreclosure from the perspective of a property owner. If you are the target of a foreclosure, you get a share of the proceeds from the sale of your property. Under TPT, the city can completely strip you of all the equity in your property". A report published in April 2025 called attention to the alleged mishandling of data by HPD.

Organization

*Commissioner **First Deputy Commissioner ***Assistant Commissioner for Economic Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance ***Deputy Commissioner for Asset and Property Management ***Deputy Commissioner of Technology and Chief Information Officer **Deputy Commissioner for Financial Management **Deputy Commissioner for External Affairs **Deputy Commissioner for Policy & Strategy **Deputy Commissioner for Neighborhood Strategies and Tenant Resources **Deputy Commissioner for Enforcement and Neighborhood Services **Deputy Commissioner for Development **Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs

Notes

References

External links

New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development

Department of Housing Preservation and Development
in the

Rules of the City of New York The ''Rules of the City of New York'' (RCNY) contains the compiled rules and regulations ( delegated legislation) of New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the ...

New York City Housing Development Corporation
in the

New York Codes, Rules and Regulations The ''New York Codes, Rules and Regulations'' (NYCRR) contains New York state rules and regulations. The NYCRR is officially compiled by the New York State Department of State's Division of Administrative Rules. Contents See also * '' New Yor ...

New York Housing Development Corporation
{{Authority control Housing Preservation and Development Government agencies overseeing housing in New York City 1978 establishments in New York (state)