![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Page-6-Photo-better-.png\")
<\/a>CITY COUNCILMAN ERIC Dinowitz (C.D. 11) questions officials from NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) during the City Council\u2019s Zoning & Franchises subcommittee meeting in mid-August 2025.Image courtesy of Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11) via X<\/p>\n
Democratic Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11) introduced a new bill on Wednesday, Nov. 12, during the New York City Council stated meeting, designed to \u201cvastly improve\u201d the application process for so-called \u201caffordable\u201d housing units made available via the housing lottery system managed by NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) through its online \u201cHousing Connect\u201d portal.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The topic of whether HPD\u2019s advertised housing units are truly affordable or not has long been debated and is not the subject of the new bills.\u00a0 As\u00a0reported<\/a>,\u00a0several<\/a>\u00a0new<\/a>\u00a0housing<\/a>\u00a0developments<\/a>, described as \u201caffordable<\/a>\u201d by NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD), have\u00a0opened<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0The Bronx<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0recent years<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yet, with advertised rents of, for example,\u00a0$3,234<\/a>\u00a0for a one-bedroom unit, or\u00a0$3,069<\/a>\u00a0for a studio, compared to average Bronx incomes of, for example,\u00a0$25,000\/annum<\/a> in City Council District 14, represented by City Council Member Pierina Sanchez, in reality, such new housing is anything but affordable, despite the increase in supply.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The councilman said while New York City tries to increase the supply of affordable housing units every year, \u201ctrusted,\u201d community-based organizations (CBOs) are simultaneously tasked with ensuring those most in need of housing get it. \u201cEvery person living in our city deserves a safe, affordable home, but the mechanism to obtain one is too often dysfunctional and runs counter to our mandate to prevent and end homelessness,\u201d Dinowitz said in part.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur incredible City Council\u2013funded CBOs are doing this work every day, yet they are constantly thwarted by deficiencies and inefficiencies in Housing Connect,\u201d he added in part. \u201cAt the same time, city agencies continue to force people to submit redundant paperwork.\u201d He said Intro. 1463-2025 and Intro. 1464-2025 aim to eliminate what he said were the \u201charmful and unnecessary bureaucratic barriers\u201d that make it difficult for residents not only to apply for affordable housing but to receive timely updates on their housing applications.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The councilman\u2019s team said Intro. 1463-2025 requires HPD to create a new, centralized webpage in the Housing Connect portal that allows CBOs that are designated housing assistance organizations, like West Bronx Housing, to act as intermediaries by accessing and managing accounts on behalf of housing applicants who authorize them to do so.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dinowitz\u2019s team said such CBOs typically serve older adults, people with disabilities, people who are currently unsheltered, and other vulnerable populations who face the most extreme barriers to housing, or who may not be comfortable using digital portals. The law would allow them to view available housing units, submit applications on behalf of individuals, track application progress, and receive notifications about housing units that match their clients\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dinowitz\u2019s team said each year, the City Council allocates millions of dollars to such CBOs to assist applicants directly, and with this bill, they said the CBOs will be more empowered to do what was described as their \u201ccrucial work\u201d and get New Yorkers into housing. They said this will maximize the funding that CBOs receive by speeding up the housing application process as a whole.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor service providers like West Bronx Housing, we often find ourselves facing many of the same unnecessary bureaucratic barriers that frustrate those who come to us seeking help with their housing search,\u201d said Joshua Stephenson, executive director of West Bronx Housing, in part. \u201c[The bills will] empower service providers to better help New Yorkers by bridging the technological and linguistic gaps that hinder our clients\u2019 hunt for a place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Intro. 1464-2025 requires NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) to ensure that all public assistance documents required for applying for an affordable housing unit are available in an applicant\u2019s Housing Connect portal, upon request. The councilman said hard-working New Yorkers do everything they can to get by, often juggling jobs, childcare, and the daily pressures to make ends meet.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He said for too many families, the housing lottery process becomes a hurdle, requiring applicants to repeatedly track down and submit documents they have already provided to the government through HRA. Dinowitz said the bill addresses that burden head-on. Together, he said the two bills will get the City closer to ending the scourge of homelessness, combating the housing crisis, and ensuring New Yorkers, regardless of age, immigration status, or physical ability, can access housing.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Noel Hidalgo, executive director of BetaNYC, a public interest tech and open data non-profit, said in part, \u201cAs someone who has spent years working to make our city\u2019s data and digital systems work for the public good, I see these two bills as essential steps toward a fairer housing landscape.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Raye Barbieri, chief executive officer of the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC), said in part, \u201cKHCC serves over 6,500 families annually, and we see first-hand how unnecessary bureaucratic barriers and redundant paperwork prevent even the most diligent applicants from finding affordable housing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Community Board 8 (CB8) also applauded Dinowitz for advancing the bills which the board said will tackle one of the most persistent challenges residents currently face i.e. navigating the affordable housing system. Bronx CB8 District Manager Farrah Kule-Rubin said in part, \u201cWe frequently hear from constituents who are overwhelmed by Housing Connect\u2019s complexity or discouraged by delays in communication.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By S\u00cdLE MOLONEY CITY COUNCILMAN ERIC Dinowitz (C.D. 11) questions officials from NYC Department of Housing, Preservation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-41617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}