Need for SPEED': Mayor Mamdani aims to cut affordable housing lottery delays by half | amNewYork

"The Mamdani administration is planning to shorten the application window for affordable housing lotteries from 60 days to 21 days and overhaul how applicants are screened, part of a broader plan Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday to move tenants into completed apartments faster."

"Under the SPEED plan, City Hall says it will simplify income verification by prioritizing easier-to-provide documents, such as proof of benefits or rental assistance; shorten the period in which marketing agents must select applicants from the randomized lottery pool in sequential order; streamline or centralize paper applications; and issue clearer guidance for applicants and property managers."

"The system drew about 6 million applications for roughly 10,000 units across 300 buildings in 2024, according to a recent NYU Furman Center report. Under the SPEED plan, City Hall says it will simplify income verification by prioritizing easier-to-provide documents, such as proof of benefits or rental assistance; shorten the period in which marketing agents must select applicants from the randomized lottery pool in sequential order; streamline or centralize paper applications; and issue clearer guidance for applicants and property managers."

"Once this system is remade, we will cut the time it takes from the completion of a building to the day New Yorkers can move in in half, from 210 days to fewer than 100 days, Mamdani said at a press conference in the Bronx."

The Mamdani administration plans to reduce the affordable housing lottery application window from 60 days to 21 days and change how applicants are screened. The SPEED (Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development) reforms aim to move tenants into completed apartments faster by cutting the median time to complete applicant approvals for lottery projects from 210 days to fewer than 100 days. The overhaul targets Housing Connect, the online lottery system that received about 6 million applications for roughly 10,000 units across 300 buildings in 2024. SPEED includes simplified income verification using easier-to-provide documents, shorter marketing-agent selection periods, streamlined or centralized paper applications, and clearer guidance for applicants and property managers. Changes are expected by the end of 2026, alongside extended waiver policies for re-rentals advertised outside Housing Connect during the transition.

Read at www.amny.com