A new report details how non-profit affordable housing providers in the Bronx are struggling to cover expenses.

The report from the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD) found that thousands of subsidized apartments in New York City are financially distressed — meaning they do not take in enough revenue to cover operating expenses. The report attributed this finding to rising insurance premiums, utility costs, and maintenance costs alongside a decrease in the number of tenants who can afford rent.

The ANHD report identified five neighborhoods where this issue is most concentrated. Of those five, three are located in the Bronx: Crotona, Fordham and Melrose.

These were among the neighborhoods that were ground zero for the decline the Bronx experienced during the 70s and 80s, when many buildings in the borough were set ablaze so landlords could collect insurance payments. Among the rubble, non-profit groups like Banana Kelly and the South East Bronx Community Organization (SEBCO) began to rebuild, establishing affordable housing buildings that served as an anchor for the borough’s rebirth.

The report recommends urgent intervention to preserve these homes. If these units are lost, the cost to replace them could run between $10.2 billion and $26.8 billion. It would also take years for construction of new units to be completed.

ANHD recommends the following policy proposals to keep these units financially solvent:

• Launch HAPI (Housing Access Preservation Initiative),a non-profit-targeted fund within the New York StateHousing Trust Fund to provide forgivable loans that prevent defaults and stabilize portfolios.
• Strengthen operating and rental assistance programs by expanding both Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Section 8, alongside CityFHEPS and the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), to offset rising costs, stabilize revenues, and maintain affordability for the lowest-income tenants.
• Develop new models of ongoing operating subsidy, including mixed-income strategies that cross-subsidize deeply affordable units.
• Reform the insurance market by creating non-profit or publicly owned insurance models that provide stable, affordable coverage for affordable housing providers and eliminate insurance redlining.
• Expand rehabilitation financing to address deferred maintenance, modernize building systems, and align preservation with climate and resiliency goals.
• Build long-term capacity at HPD and HCR Invest in sustained staffing, capital resources, and analytical capacity at HPD and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) to identify risks early, intervene before properties fall into distress, and preserve affordable housing efficiently through future funding cycles.

The report highlights that the solution to the affordable housing crisis is not merely found in building new housing, but in preserving what already exists — which means supporting those organizations that have been at the frontlines of the housing crisis for decades.