Approximately $62 million will be available for affordable housing projects when the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York opens its competitive grant program Feb. 9.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY) Affordable Housing Program (AHP) provides subsidies to FHLBNY member financial institutions to support the creation or rehabilitation of affordable housing.
The 2026 general funding round Feb. 9 and applications are due on March 20. But AHP funds can only be accessed through a participating FHLBNY member and applications may be due to the member bank prior to that date.
Applicants must enroll in the Affordable Housing Program System and all applications must be submitted online. There is no limit to the number of applications that can be submitted, but sponsors are limited to no more than 25 owner-occupied rehabilitation units per round. A maximum subsidy of $2.5 million is available per project, not to exceed the $80,000 per AHP-targeted unit limit.
It is a crucial time for affordable housing in New York, which lags other states in affordable housing production. Harris Beach Murtha’s Affordable Housing Industry Team has written and spoken extensively on New York’s affordable housing needs. In a state where almost 50 percent of all households are renters, nearly half of those households are “rent burdened,” or spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities each month, according to New York University’s Furman Center. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the “Let Them Build” agenda in her 2026 State of the State, proposing reforms to accelerate housing and infrastructure development and reduce project costs.
The Affordable Housing Program will fund projects that include:
- Houses with one to four units
- Co-ops
- Condos
- Apartments
- Single-room occupancy facilities
- Long-term shelters
- Transitional housing
- Mutual housing associations
- Group homes
Guidelines include:
- Permanent rental units or transitional housing must reserve at least 20 percent of the units for households earning 50 percent or less of the area median income.
- Owner-Occupied Housing, such as single-family, two-family, condos and co-ops, must be filled completely with units for households earning 80 percent or less of the area median income.
- Project sponsor must demonstrate site control, except for owner-occupied rehabilitation projects (required at drawdown).
- The sponsor must have a realistic development plan able to meet all AHP Life Cycle milestones.
- Units must remain affordable for a minimum of 15 years.
More information is available in the 2026 implementation plan. Awardees will be announced in the third quarter of this year.
Last year, the AHP program awarded a record $86.3 million in subsidies to fund a record 75 affordable housing initiatives throughout New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, California, Delaware, Maine, Pennsylvania and Texas. The awards are expected to create, rehabilitate or preserve a record 4,976 units, including 3,628 units dedicated to very low-income housing, 4,637 units of rental housing and 339 homeownership opportunities.
The awards are expected to drive community development, providing more than housing. Last year’s awards were predicted to result in nearly $2.2 billion in community investments.
If you need assistance with applying to the Affordable Housing Program, our Affordable Housing Industry Team can help. Please reach out to attorney Michael A. Discenza at (212) 912-3605 and mdiscenza@harrisbeachmurtha.com, or the Harris Beach attorney with whom you most frequently work.
This alert is not a substitute for advice of counsel on specific legal issues.
Harris Beach Murtha’s lawyers and consultants practice from offices throughout Connecticut in Bantam, Hartford, New Haven and Stamford; New York state in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, Long Island and White Plains, as well as in Boston, Massachusetts, and Newark, New Jersey.
