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Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

Developing a Healthy Housing Protocol

NYHealth awarded Enterprise Community Partners a grant to develop a tool that will help builders focus on health during housing preservation projects.

Building Healthy Communities

Grantee Name

Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

Funding Area

Building Healthy Communities

Publication Date

February 2019

Grant Amount

$150,000

Grant Date:

December 2015 – March 2018

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In 2014, Mayor de Blasio released New York City’s affordable housing plan, “Housing New York,” which aims to provide support to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing across New York City, of which 120,000 are preservation projects.

That same year, NYHealth and the Kresge Foundation jointly commissioned a report that examined the City’s housing plan, documenting the link between housing conditions and resident health and the disproportionate impact of poor housing conditions on low-income communities. The report also offered recommendations for City agencies to advance residents’ health through the plan.

To address those recommendations, NYHealth awarded Enterprise Community Partners a grant to (1) develop a tool to help builders focus on health during housing preservation projects and (2) pilot the use of the tool in buildings located in two of NYHealth’s Healthy Neighborhoods Fund communities, East Harlem and Brownsville, as well as in the South Bronx.

 

 

Outcomes and Lessons Learned

  • Developed and piloted the Healthy Green Capital Needs Assessment (HGCNA) tool in New York City, so that affordable housing owners, public agencies, and building specialists can understand the range of potential improvements to support resident health; develop a proposed scope of costs; identify financing mechanisms and incentives; and develop and execute long-term operations and resident engagement plans.
  • Worked with New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to integrate the HGCNA into a larger, more comprehensive assessment tool, the Integrated Physical Needs Assessment (IPNA). The IPNA tool:
    • Helps developers evaluate the physical, energy, and health opportunities of multifamily properties throughout New York City and New York State.
    • Streamlines and consolidates multiple checklists of requirements, such as energy efficiency and water conservation, that housing developers must fulfill to receive funding for restoration and preservation projects.
  • Reached 130,000 housing units in New York City, which will undergo the IPNA.
  • Reached 50,000 housing units located elsewhere in New York State, which will undergo the IPNA.

Over the course of the grant, the City of New York released its “Housing New York 2.0” plan, increasing the preservation target from 120,000 units to 180,000 units—and consequently increasing the overall reach of the project.

Through the development of the IPNA, Enterprise Community Partners formed partnerships with HPD, the New York City Housing Development Corporation, and the New York State Homes and Community Renewal—expanding the project reach from citywide to statewide. As a result of this project, all developers seeking funding for housing preservation projects through the City and the State will now be required to use the IPNA to qualify for funding and be in compliance.

Co-Funding and Additional Funds Leveraged: N/A

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