City Launches Anti-Displacement Pilot Program Uptown

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — A new pilot program is launching in Inwood and Washington Heights that will extend funding to community-based organizations to help organize initiatives that combat tenant displacement, city officials announced Tuesday.

The Partners in Preservation program will launch with $1.5 million in funding from the city government and the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners, Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer said Tuesday.

Community-based organizations will be able to apply for funding to organize initiatives that combat tenant displacement, city officials said. A request for proposals will be release by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in the fall, officials said Tuesday.

Example of strategies that could be funded through the program include tenant organization, hiring legal representation and helping city agencies identify buildings where landlords are harassing tenants or letting living conditions deteriorate.

"We’re joining forces with community-based organizations to double down on our efforts to combat displacement with a targeted, comprehensive approach to enforcement and preservation that will help neighborhoods most at risk of losing affordability," Torres-Springer said.

The program will pair both data analysis and the local knowledge of community organizations to best identify buildings at risk of tenant displacement, Torres-Springer said. The city estimates that the pilot program will be able to affect 2,000 buildings and 6,000 tenants.

The pilot program will be launched in Inwood, Washington Heights, East Harlem and the Jerome Avenue section on the Bronx. East Harlem and Jerome Avenue have recently been rezoned for increased density and the City Council is days away from voting on a similar rezoning for Inwood.

City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez said Tuesday that the Partners in Preservation program will contribute to efforts to preserve Inwood's largely rent-regulated affordable housing stock should the neighborhood be rezoned to allow greater residential density. Rodriguez did not disclose his position on the rezoning, but said that he's engaged in productive talks with the de Blasio administration on ensuring that the plan includes creation of affordable housing at rates appropriate for the median incomes of current neighborhood residents.

"We are here to protect our tenants, especially as we are getting close to deciding on rezoning," Rodriguez said Tuesday. "Investing millions of dollars for preservation — including increasing more dollars for enforcement — is going to be one of my top priorities and is a priority for all the elected officials. And this is something I know that HPD and City Hall understand that the community needs."

After the 18-month pilot program the city will analyze the results of Partners in Preservation in order to determine how it can be best scaled throughout the city, officials said Tuesday.

Photo by Brendan Krisel/Patch