Establishes the affordable senior housing and services program to be administered by the housing trust fund corporation; such program shall provide payments, loans and grants for the reasonable and necessary expenses of creating, preserving or improving affordable senior housing which provides healthy aging services to residents.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A3531
SPONSOR: Cymbrowitz
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to estab-
lishing the affordable senior housing and services program
 
PURPOSE:
Establishes the affordable senior housing and services program to be
administered by the Housing Trust Fund Corporation.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1240 sets forth legislative findings.
Section 1241 provides for definitions.
Section 1242 establishes the Affordable Senior Housing and Services
Program and criteria for eligibility. Sixty percent of available funding
will be allocated to projects in urban areas. Forty percent of available
funding will be allocated to projects in rural areas. An annual report
shall be submitted to the Legislature.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State has historically financed independent housing designed
for seniors. In recent years, priorities have shifted and senior housing
units have been included as a small set aside within larger supportive
housing projects serving people with a broad range of special needs.
This does not always achieve the objective of creating senior communi-
ties with amenities and services geared toward the aging population.
The Social Security Administration estimates that 10,000 Americans are
turning 65 every day. With that, the demand for age-targeted affordable
housing developments with amenities and services geared for residents 62
and older is on the rise. Many of these seniors are anticipated to have
limited retirement savings, and will need subsidized rental housing to
live safely and independently in the community.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 202
program, which built over 100,000 units of senior housing in New York,
was discontinued in 2011, and now only provides ongoing rental assist-
ance to existing developments. Creating a new statewide Affordable
Senior Housing and Services Program will help address the demand for
safe, decent affordable housing for seniors, while also ensuring that
seniors are not unnecessarily placed in more costly and restrictive
institutional settings.
This program will also provide for optional basic healthy aging services
for residents.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-20 A.4974 Referred to Housing/S.5269 Kavanagh
2017-18: A.6804 - Referred to Housing, Referred to Ways & Means.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None. This program would be subject to annual appropriations.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3531
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CYMBROWITZ, BARRON, DE LA ROSA -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to estab-
lishing the affordable senior housing and services program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The private housing finance law is amended by adding a new
2 article 28 to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE XXVIII
4 AFFORDABLE SENIOR HOUSING
5 AND SERVICES
6 Section 1240. Statement of legislative findings and purpose.
7 1241. Definitions.
8 1242. Affordable senior housing and services program.
9 § 1240. Statement of legislative findings and purpose. The legislature
10 hereby finds and declares that there exists in the state a serious shor-
11 tage of rental housing for older persons who choose to live independent-
12 ly, and who may benefit from modest basic services in order to remain
13 living independently. Providing capital funding to facilitate the
14 construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental apartments for
15 older persons over the age of sixty-two, and providing service coordi-
16 nation funds to not-for-profit organizations, will allow thousands of
17 older New Yorkers to "age-in-place" comfortably in their community,
18 reducing the likelihood of residing in an institutional setting.
19 § 1241. Definitions. As used in this article:
20 1. "Corporation" shall mean the housing trust fund corporation estab-
21 lished in section forty-five-a of this chapter.
22 2. "Eligible applicant" shall mean a person of low income, a housing
23 development fund company incorporated pursuant to article eleven of this
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06345-01-1
A. 3531 2
1 chapter, a not-for-profit corporation or charitable organization which
2 has as one of its primary purposes the improvement of housing for
3 persons of low income, a wholly-owned subsidiary of such a corporation
4 or organization, a partnership at least fifty percent of the controlling
5 interest of which is held by such a corporation or organization and
6 which has agreed to limit profits or rate of return of investors in
7 accordance with a formula established or approved by the corporation or
8 a private developer which has agreed to limit profits or rate of return
9 of investors in accordance with a formula established or approved by the
10 corporation, a city, town, village or county, provided, however, that
11 the county is only acting as an administrator of a program under which
12 projects are rehabilitated or constructed or nonresidential properties
13 are converted by other eligible applicants, or a municipal housing
14 authority created pursuant to the public housing law, provided, however,
15 that any real property of such housing authority to be rehabilitated,
16 constructed or converted under this article shall not have been financed
17 pursuant to the provisions of the public housing law and shall not have
18 been owned by such authority prior to July first, nineteen hundred
19 eighty-six, and provided, further, however, that persons of low income
20 shall not be direct recipients of payments, grants or loans from the
21 corporation under this article but may receive such funds from another
22 eligible applicant.
23 3. "Affordable senior housing property" shall mean an apartment build-
24 ing or complex occupied by individuals over sixty-two years of age, who
25 live independently and at least eighty percent of whom have a total
26 household income that does not exceed eighty percent of the area median
27 income, and which apartment building or complex is not otherwise
28 required to be licensed as an adult care facility pursuant to article
29 seven of the social services law or an assisted living residence pursu-
30 ant to article forty-six-B of the public health law.
31 4. "Healthy aging services" shall mean an array of optional services
32 offered to residents of an affordable independent senior housing proper-
33 ty on a voluntary participation basis that help promote healthy aging
34 which may include, but not be limited to: establishing and maintaining
35 networking relationships with community-based services and organiza-
36 tions; providing residents with information and referral lists for
37 community services and assisting them with follow-ups; arranging for
38 educational and socialization programs for residents; helping residents
39 arrange for housekeeping, shopping, transportation, meals-on-wheels,
40 cooking and laundry services; establishing resident safety programs;
41 assisting residents to apply for government benefits; advocating for
42 residents; offering opportunities for exercise; educating residents
43 about healthy diet; and other services designed to address the needs of
44 older adults residing in senior housing facilities by helping them
45 extend their independence, improve their quality of life, and avoid
46 unnecessary hospital and nursing home use.
47 § 1242. Affordable senior housing and services program. 1. Establish-
48 ment. Within amounts appropriated or otherwise available therefor, the
49 corporation shall develop and administer an affordable senior housing
50 and services program which shall provide assistance in the form of
51 payments, grants and loans for reasonable and necessary expenses, to an
52 eligible applicant for the creation, preservation or improvement of
53 affordable senior housing properties, provided that such housing also
54 provides access to healthy aging services on a voluntary basis for all
55 residents of the affordable senior housing property.
A. 3531 3
1 2. Program criteria. The corporation shall develop procedures, crite-
2 ria and requirements related to the application and award of projects
3 pursuant to this section which shall include: eligibility, market
4 demand, feasibility and funding criteria; the funding determination
5 process; supervision and evaluation of contracting applicants; report-
6 ing, budgeting and recordkeeping requirements; provisions for modifica-
7 tion and termination of contracts; and such other matters not inconsist-
8 ent with the purposes and provisions of this article as the corporation
9 shall deem necessary or appropriate.
10 3. Fund allocation. Sixty percent of the total funds awarded pursuant
11 to this article in any fiscal year shall be allocated to projects
12 located in urban areas of the state, as such term is defined in subdivi-
13 sion four of section twelve hundred thirty-one of this chapter. Forty
14 percent of the total funds awarded pursuant to this article in any
15 fiscal year shall be allocated to projects located in rural areas of the
16 state, as such term is defined in subdivision three of section twelve
17 hundred thirty-one of this chapter.
18 4. Proof of available services. Applicants shall demonstrate proof
19 that healthy aging services shall be made available to all residents of
20 the property within thirty days of initial occupancy. There shall be no
21 requirement that residents take part in such services. The property
22 owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for ensuring that such
23 services are available and that residents are made aware of the avail-
24 ability of such services. If the owner of the property or his or her
25 agent also provides services such as home care, the owner or his or her
26 agent shall not require that any resident of the property use services
27 provided and shall proactively provide information to residents about
28 the availability of other companies or organizations in the community
29 that provide the same or similar services.
30 5. Services funding through the office for the aging. The corporation
31 shall suballocate a portion of the amount appropriated for the afforda-
32 ble senior housing and services program to the office for the aging
33 which shall provide grants on a competitive basis for not-for-profit
34 organizations to provide healthy aging services. Such office shall
35 develop regulations that will ensure that funds are provided to organ-
36 izations that develop and operate affordable senior housing properties,
37 as defined in this article. The office for the aging shall provide
38 grants to organizations that have demonstrated experience working with
39 persons eligible for the program for at least three years.
40 6. Annual report. The corporation shall annually, on or before Decem-
41 ber thirty-first, submit a report to the legislature on the implementa-
42 tion of this article. Such report shall include, but not be limited to,
43 for each award made to a grantee under this article: a description of
44 such award; contract amount and cumulative total; the specific activ-
45 ities in rural and urban areas performed by such grantee; and such other
46 information as the corporation deems pertinent.
47 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.