Housing Development Fund Corporation (“HDFC”) cooperatives were formed pursuant to Article XI of New York’s Private Housing Finance Law and the Business Corporation Law. In practice, HDFC cooperatives are limited-equity cooperatives, providing income-restricted homeownership opportunities to low-income New Yorkers. HDFC co-ops provide a unique and important role in NYC’s affordable housing landscape. For decades HDFC co-ops have provided one of the only paths to homeownership opportunities for low- and middle-class New Yorkers. Over 1,300 such cooperatives exist in the city. While most HDFC co-ops are stable properties that demonstrate the benefits of multigenerational affordable homeownership, a significant percentage of HDFC co-ops are struggling with financial and/or physical distress. Oftentimes, the financial and/or physical distress is symptomatic of governance problems, limited board and shareholder engagement, vacant units in need of repair, and complex probate issues stemming from deceased shareholders. For these reasons, the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) is dedicating a portion of settlement funds awarded to New York under the JP Morgan Chase Settlement and National Mortgage Settlement to create the HDFC Cooperative Technical Assistance Program (“CTAP”.) The OAG will work closely with New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”) on this program; HPD will assist in developing and managing the program, including identifying eligible HDFC co-op properties for engagement. The OAG anticipates awarding, through this Request for Applications, a grant of up to $750,000 to a nonprofit organization to act as a Cooperative TA Provider to provide technical assistance to cooperatives in New York City under CTAP. The Cooperative TA Provider will engage HDFC coops identified by HPD and offer targeted technical assistance that would help co-ops on a path toward stabilization. Technical assistance includes connecting co-ops with a source of funds for vacant unit or emergency repairs, resolving municipal arrears, addressing operational needs, obtaining legal assistance, and implementing more effective governance structures.
