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REMARKS
Issues with Housing Connect platform
0:02:35
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161 sec
Council Member Sanchez details various problems with the Housing Connect platform, including long processing times, inefficiencies in the re-rental process, and accessibility issues for certain populations.
- Highlights the average 191-day approval time for lottery winners
- Discusses challenges with the re-rental process and marketing agent procedures
- Addresses accessibility concerns for older adults and those without computer access
- Mentions the difficulty of proving income eligibility
Pierina Ana Sanchez
0:02:35
Some context, between January 2014 and June of twenty twenty, a six year period, 29,000,000 applications were received on Housing Connect compared to just 27,819 leases signed.
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That means that just one lease was issued for every 1,000 applications that were submitted.
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The root cause here is, of course, that we have just a fraction of the affordable apartments that we need to meet the demand.
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But the application technology itself also causes a necessary delay.
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For instance, according to fiscal year to the fiscal year 2025 mayor's management report, it takes HPD an average of one hundred ninety one days to approve an applicant after the applicant has won the lottery.
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During this period, the lottery's winner the lottery winner's housing unit sits vacant, denying someone the opportunity to live in an affordable home for over six months.
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And some types of affordable apartments regularly take longer than a hundred ninety one days to fill.
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In cases where a previously occupied affordable unit becomes available, which is commonly known as a re rental, HPD's marketing handbook or requirements require that the building's marketing agent reach out one by one to applicants who expressed an interest in re rental units in general when they created their Housing Connect account.
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This process leads to the marketing agent well, excuse me.
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This process leads to the marketing agent contacting applicants who may not be interested in a particular re rental unit that has become available and creates delays in finding a new tenant for the affordable home.
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There are also concerns that the lottery system is not accessible to some New Yorkers, especially those who may struggle to use Housing Connect's online interface.
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In particular, older adults, older New Yorkers, and New Yorkers without access to a computer face significant barriers when it comes to learning about new housing lottery opportunities and responding to HPD's notifications in a timely manner.
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And although HPD's marketing handbook requires that paper applications for housing lotteries be accepted, anecdotal information suggests that few applicants are aware of or utilize this option.
0:04:46
I'm sorry, there's somebody who has something on speaker phone or something and it's very distracting.
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Someone has translation services.
0:04:53
Oh, okay.
0:04:55
Okay.
0:04:57
No problem.
0:04:57
I'm just like, is it are they talking to me?
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Okay.
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No problem.
0:05:02
And although HPD's marketing handbook requires that paper application okay.
0:05:06
I already read that.
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Okay.
0:05:07
Proving that you are income eligible for an affordable housing is difficult enough and shouldn't be further complicated by barriers to computer literacy or access.