– In a major win for women-led households, Mayor Eric Adams and DSS Commissioner Molly Wasow Park unveiled a new 64-unit affordable housing site in the Bronx—prioritizing women and families in need. As part of the Affordable Housing Services (AHS) initiative, the project offers deeply affordable homes to help New Yorkers transition from shelter to stability. With 460 units already created and over 550 more in the pipeline, the Adams administration continues tackling NYC’s housing crisis head-on.
Mayor Adams, DSS Commissioner Wasow Park Celebrate Opening of Deeply Affordable Housing Site for Women-Led Households During Women’s History Month
Bronx Building With 64 High-Quality Homes for Women-Led Households with CityFHEPS
Vouchers is Latest in City’s Efforts to Create Subsidized Apartments for Households in Shelter
Record-Breaking Years Highlight Adams Administration Continued Delivery of
Critically-Needed Housing as City Faces Generational Housing Crisis
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park today celebrated Women’s History Month with the opening of a new 64-unit site with affordable housing in the Bronx that will prioritize women-led households — the first Affordable Housing Services (AHS) site to specifically prioritize renting units to women-led households. At this site, 64 units were created through the AHS initiative, which was launched last year to fast track permanent, affordable homes for people in shelter. With the opening of this building, the Adams administration has already created 460 high-quality, deeply affordable homes for New Yorkers in shelter through the AHS initiative.
“We are putting New York City’s women first and giving them homes to call their own so they can thrive,” said Mayor Adams. “This new building is the latest in our efforts to create subsidized apartments for New Yorkers using our administration’s Affordable Housing Services initiative, and it marks more than 450 deeply affordable homes we have created for New Yorkers in shelter. It also builds on our record-breaking progress connecting New Yorkers in shelter to permanent, affordable homes. Last year, DSS helped more than 16,000 households, or approximately 34,000 people, move out of shelters and into stable homes. Now 34,000 New Yorkers have the chance at a better future, including more women-led households.”
“As someone who started their career in the field of affordable housing, I’m incredibly proud of our expanding housing footprint at the Department of Social Services and the work we did to move a record number of households from shelter to stable homes in 2024,” said DSS Commissioner Wasow Park. “With the Affordable Housing Services initiative, this administration has found an innovative way to connect at-risk New Yorkers to housing in the face of a citywide vacancy rate of 1.4 percent. Moreover, through this AHS site, developed in partnership with Community Housing Innovations, we are advancing gender equity and empowering women-led households to become more financially independent — making this a win-win for everyone involved. We couldn’t be happier for these households and for the hundreds of New Yorkers occupying homes that were created through this initiative and the hundreds more in the shelter system that will benefit from the more than 550 homes in the AHS pipeline.”
“Community Housing Innovations believes that quality, affordable housing provides a firm foundation for a prosperous life, and all of us need a home of our own,” said Ron Abad, CEO, Community Housing Innovations. “We celebrate and welcome home each family that has progressed in their housing journey, moving from shelter to a permanent home. All New Yorkers should be proud of this great accomplishment.”
The 64-unit building for mostly women-headed households is the latest AHS site, and the first to prioritize women-led households, to open as part of the Adams administration’s push to fast-track the creation of deeply affordable homes. With approximately 460 units now open across AHS sites over the last year alone, DSS is working to expedite the opening of 568 more deeply affordable homes for New Yorkers in the shelter system with City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) vouchers. DSS continues to develop the AHS pipeline, working with various not-for-profit providers to identify new high-quality proposals as the city looks to build on last year’s record-breaking progress connecting New Yorkers in shelter to permanent subsidized housing. Today’s announcement marks the fifth site that DSS has opened since the AHS initiative was launched last year.
This AHS site will be operated by not-for-profit human services provider Community Housing Innovations. DSS has finalized or opened AHS sites with various not-for-profit providers, including Riseboro, the Fortune Society, and VIP Community Services. Today’s announcement follows the opening in December of a 63-unit Affordable Housing Services site building in the Bronx operated by The Doe Fund.
The opening is also the latest achievement in the Adams administration’s efforts to build on the record-breaking progress it’s already achieved connecting New Yorkers in shelter to permanent, affordable homes. In 2024, DSS helped more than 16,000 households (nearly 34,000 people) move out of shelters and into stable homes, 38 percent more than the year before. A record number of New Yorkers used CityFHEPS vouchers to obtain permanent housing or stay in their current homes.
While CityFHEPS vouchers are a crucial tool for connecting New Yorkers to affordable housing, there are approximately 11,000 households holding CityFHEPS vouchers currently in the city’s shelter system who are unable to find housing due to the city’s severe housing shortage. AHS created a newer, much needed, and scalable pathway out of shelter. Through the program, the city leverages social services dollars to help nonprofits purchase or enter long-term, building-wide leases to create deeply affordable housing with 30-year contracts leveraging social services dollars — locking in long-term affordability with strong tenant protections for CityFHEPS voucher holders. Virtually all of the program’s apartments are fully leased, demonstrating the success of this innovative housing program for CityFHEPS voucher holders in shelter.
Today’s announcement builds on the Adams administration’s historic efforts in combatting the city’s housing crisis. Last December, Mayor Adams celebrated the passage of “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity,” the most pro-housing proposal in city history that will build 80,000 new homes over 15 years and invest $5 billion towards critical infrastructure updates and housing. In June 2024, City Hall and the New York City Council agreed to an on-time, balanced, and fiscally-responsible $112.4 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Adopted Budget that invested $2 billion in capital funds across FY25 and FY26 to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Authority’s capital budgets. In total, the Adams administration has committed $24.5 billion in housing capital in the current 10-year plan as the city faces a generational housing crisis. Mayor Adams celebrated both back-to-back record breaking fiscal years and calendar years in both creating and connecting New Yorkers to affordable housing. Last spring, the city celebrated the largest 100 percent affordable housing project in 40 years with the Willets Point transformation.
The opening of this new affordable housing site for mostly women-led households is also part of Mayor Adams “Women Forward NYC: An Action Plan for Gender Equity” initiative and $62 million investment aimed at making New York City the most women-forward city in the country. The action plan, which encompasses new and ongoing investments, is dedicated to supporting historically-marginalized populations and putting them on a path toward economic mobility, improved health outcomes, and housing stability.
March 27, 2025 New York City Hall
Sources: NYC.gov , Midtown Tribune
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