Attorney General James, Mayor Adams, and HPD Launch Pilot Program to Support Low-Income Co-Op Owners in New York City

September 16, 2025

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Acting Commissioner Ahmed Tigani today announced a new pilot program to support struggling Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) cooperatives in New York City and ensure they can continue to offer safe, affordable homeownership opportunities for low-income New Yorkers. The pilot program - called the HDFC Cooperative Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) and backed by settlement funds from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) - will provide HDFC co-ops in New York City with targeted technical assistance from the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, Inc. (UHAB) to help improve their financial, operational, and physical health.

"As New York City faces a housing crisis, we must do everything we can to preserve affordable housing and homeownership opportunities," said Attorney General James. "This pilot program will help HDFC co-ops continue to provide safe, sustainable, and affordable paths to homeownership for low-income New Yorkers. I am grateful to Mayor Adams, HPD, and UHAB for their partnership in bringing this new program to life."

"Our administration works every day to make New York City the best place to raise a family, including by helping more New Yorkers buy and keep homes here in the five boroughs. With this new program, we'll double down on those efforts, bolstering a critical part of our city's housing stock and helping more families find an affordable place to live," said Mayor Eric Adams. "Our thanks to Attorney General James for helping launch this program and for her steadfast support for working-class New Yorkers. Whether it's shattering affordable housing records year after year, passing the first citywide zoning reform in six decades, or finding creative ways to build more family-friendly neighborhoods, there is simply no other way to say it: we are the most pro-housing administration in New York City history."

"A severely aged housing stock, an increasingly complex compliance landscape, skyrocketing insurance and utility costs, and the economic ripple effects of the pandemic on low-income New Yorkers have made the operations of affordable co-ops more and more challenging," said Margy Brown, Executive Director at UHAB. "UHAB is grateful to see the Attorney General's and HPD's generous investment in skilled technical assistance to support HDFCs' pathway to long term stability."

HDFC co-ops are a critical part of New York City's affordable housing landscape and provide one of the most reliable paths to homeownership for low- to moderate-income New Yorkers. While most HDFC co-ops are financially stable and demonstrate the positive, multigenerational impact of affordable homeownership, some are struggling to manage finances and maintenance needs. A recent review of the more than 1,000 HDFC co-ops in HPD's portfolio found that a high number of these buildings are at high risk and could benefit from assistance. These issues often point to a need for structural support for co-ops that could include governance issues, shareholder engagement, and legal matters impacting the co-op's ability to sell units. CTAP will help directly address these challenges and strengthen selected co-ops.

During the two-year program period, HPD will work closely with UHAB to identify a priority list of at-risk HDFC co-ops that would benefit from external support. Together with HPD, UHAB will assess each HDFC co-op's governance structure, as well as financial and physical needs to create an actionable stabilization plan tailored to the specific co-op and help implement the plan. Participating co-ops will also have access to a low-interest flexible financing fund offered by HPD and Enterprise Community Partners. HPD will assist approximately 20-30 HDFC co-ops through the pilot program to address various common issues, including help to:

• Address Municipal Arrears: Enable the co-op to pay off any debt owed - such as bills that are past due to the New York City Department of Finance, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and Con Edison - through a sustainable repayment plan or refinancing the arrears with a below-market loan product.
• Stabilize Finances: Take steps to improve the co-op's financial health by increasing or restructuring maintenance fees, refinancing debt, identifying unnecessary expenses, hiring third-party property management companies, and implementing sustainable cost-saving measures.
• Renovate Vacant Units: Access below-market financing to renovate vacant units so they can be sold to prospective shareholders.
• Establish Good Governance Practices: Aid the co-op in resolving governance issues by establishing or updating rules and regulations - or engaging a monitor, as needed, to ensure boards and shareholders understand their respective responsibilities.
• Handle Estate and Probate Issues: Engage attorneys to help the co-op's shareholders and boards with estate planning and probate issues.
• Remove Housing Violations: Guide the co-op in addressing and removing outstanding building violations that carry penalties or prevent the co-op from moving forward with rehabilitation projects.

This pilot program is funded by OAG using funds from the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement - which secured $25 billion from five of the nation's largest mortgage services - and the 2013 Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group - which secured a $13 billion settlement from JPMorgan Chase for the company's role in the mortgage crisis.