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Acting Commissioner Tigani explains HPD's efforts to address backlog and use alternative tools
1:11:12
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104 sec
Acting Commissioner Tigani responds to concerns about the backlog in preservation loan programs by explaining HPD's efforts to use alternative tools and streamline processes for addressing building needs.
- Tigani mentions the recent launch of programs like J-51 that can address repairs and financial distress more quickly
- He discusses efforts to tie owners with vacant units to vouchers and use rental subsidies to address operating expenses
- Tigani emphasizes that increasing the number of tools that don't require a full rehab financing will allow for faster processing of building needs
Ahmed Tigani
1:11:12
So if I can start.
1:11:13
So the first thing thank you for the question council member.
1:11:16
The first thing I would say here is that we, there are buildings that come into, right now because we had limited tools, we continue to have limited tools, but we have more tools now than we just had you know several months ago.
1:11:28
There are buildings that asked for help that may benefit from other tools that didn't require a full preservation refinancing.
1:11:36
So again I mentioned J 51 because there were a lot of repairs and physical and financial distress that could be addressed through that program that I think will allow buildings that would otherwise have to go through that process to go further and faster and help those tenants in those buildings more quickly.
1:11:56
And so that program just recently has been launched and we're working on getting those buildings assessed and we'll understand better how the backlog is reduced without those buildings as part of the overall count.
1:12:13
The second thing I would say is that operating there are operating expenses that we are trying to also address by tying owners who have vacant units to vouchers and continuing to do assessments to see again, is this something that you need a full building renovation or is it about operating expenses and we can either attack it by using rental subsidy as a way to ground you.
1:12:35
But to do a more full accounting as the deputy commissioner said, we will need to come back to you on that.
1:12:42
I will say that as we increase the number of tools that do not require a discretionary process or require a full rehab financing because there's buildings at different stages, we'll be able to move buildings more quickly.