Thesis 2018 - Repurposing Abandoned Residential Infrastructure in New York City to Curb Homelessness

REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING AND PRESERVATION THESIS 2018 | RAMYA RAMANATHAN ADVISOR: PROF. MALO A. HUTSON READER: PROF. KATHERINE D. DUNHAM

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THE CHALLENGE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS - 63,000 homeless New Yorkers (February 2018) - This includes 15, 000 families - 23, 000 children - 77% increase in the number of people using shelters within a decade - New York City Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) launched the Zombie Homes Campaign in July 2017.

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ISSUE OF ABANDONED HOMES - NYC HPD defines Zombie Homes as: “Zombie homes can be defined as vacant, deteriorated small homes whose owners are behind on their mortgage payments. These properties are symbols of the effects of the foreclosure crisis in neighborhoods throughout the city.”

- 3300 zombie homes in New York City - 1420 of these in Long Island City

REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

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REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

TIMELINE OF EVENTS 1937

1950’s

1965

1973

Creation of US Housing Authority

Post WW II rise in homelessness

Creation of HUD

Housing moratorium

1975

1979 Right to Shelter mandate passed in New York

Section 8 implementation

1990’s US Census estimation of homeless people

1980’s NYC acquired 100,000 abandoned homes from HUD

2005

1987 Stewart McKinney Homelessness Relief Act

2014

Bloomberg’s Inclusionary de Blasio’s Mandatory Zoning (IZ) Inclusionary Housing (MIH)

- Area Median Income sets income indices for individuals or families to qualify for affordable housing

AMI

- AMI for NYC for a family of three: $83,900 (2017) - Individuals or families paying more than 30% of the AMI are rent burdened -54 % renters in NYC are rent burdened

MIH Congregate Housing model

DSS

Scatter Site model

HUD

Project based | Renter based 4

- Mandatory Inclusionary Housing allocates a fixed % units in all residential development (usually 20-80 or 30-70) under affordable housing - Jerome Avenue rezoning and East Harlem rezoning - Development bonuses vary according to the % of allocation agreed upon - NYC Department of Social Services comprises of the Department of Human Resources Administration (HRA) and Department of Homeless Services (DHS) - Living in Communities (LinC) and Special Exit and Prevention Supplement Program (SEPS) - The Housing and Urban Development funds Section 8. New York City Housing Administration runs this program - Housing First program connects individuals and families experiencing homelessness to permanent housing without preconditions to entry REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

Can these abandoned homes become a viable option to house the 60,000 + homeless New Yorkers?

Image Source: Curbed NY

- Stagnant wages and increasing rents - 6000 on the verge to become homeless with a 10% increase in rent - Working homeless phenomena - 500% increase in the number of women who are homeless in NYC (1983 - 2015) - $370 million contract between NYC and hotels for homeless service provisions For most individuals, homelessness may be temporary, but for the city it is an evergrowing issue.

Image Source: George Cohen Photography

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REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

THE IRONY OF ABANDONED HOMES - Multi family dwellings give more returns to government as compared to single family homes - Many abandoned homes acquired during the 80’s are now multi-family dwellings - Hurricane Sandy affected many homes across NYC - Many families could not afford refurbishment of their dilapidated homes - driving them to other areas for shelter - Since Sandy, New York has seen an increase in the abandoned residential infrastructure - Foreclosure crisis adds to the vacant and idle home situation

Image Source: NYC HPD

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4

- Interviews: - Professionals in the affordable housing sector - Community organizations involved with providing shelter to the homeless - Academicians experimenting with policies to tackle homelessness - Visit to California: Los Angeles and Orange County - Understand mechanisms to deal with homelessness in these cities - Interaction with experts to understand ways the proposed housing model can work in these regions - Studying previous research, media reports and policies to work around homelessness and abandoned infrastructure

REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

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REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

- Explore past and current policy framework around homelessness and abandoned homes

SCOPE

- Provide recommendations within the existing policy fabric - This research builds off from previous research and analysis on homelessness in NYC - Recommendations are a result of the critics and inputs from professionals working in this field - Existing locations of all the abandoned homes not identified

LIMITATIONS

- Owners of abandoned residential property not contacted - Direct outreach to homeless people not undertaken

FUTURE RESEARCH

- Reach out to individual owners and mortgage agencies to analyze their interest in this model - Identify locations of every abandoned home to understand the scale of implementation of the model in different areas of the city - Engage decision makers to gauge their willingness to repurpose abandoned homes for the homeless

FINDINGS

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REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

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- Incentive for homeowners to monetarily gain from their idle homes - Recent entry of many such homes due to foreclosure crisis may mean that they need minimal renovation - Scattered presence of these vacant homes may reduce the intensity of NIMBYism - HNY 2.0 Plan: - Allocate fixed % of homes for the homeless - Focus on utilizing vacant assets in the city - NYC 15/15 gives subsidies to developers working towards supportive housing for the homeless

- NIMBYism to incoming homeless people in communities - Ownership status and condition the vacant homes will determine its role in this housing model - Properties which are at par with building codes cannot be acquired - Willingness of property owners key in the success of this model - Chronically homeless people cannot withstand the burden of single family homes - Scattered administrative bodies required to regulate these homes - Use type difference between homes and shelters - Steep short term investments required to refurbish the abandoned homes

HURDLES

OPPORTUNITIES

REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

RECOMMENDATIONS “There is space in New York City for every single New Yorker to have a decent place to live.”

- Owen Rogers | Picture the Homeless

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REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

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REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

Stakeholder Engagement - Public Private partnerships between city agencies and developers to revive the abandoned homes - Flexible lease agreements with owners of vacant homes or mortgage companies to utilize idle homes during the ownership transition period - Community organizations play a key role in generating positive support for such projects as well as undertaking the regulation of these projects

Community Support - Spread awareness for the need to house the homeless amongst communities - Open house tours and concepts of proposals must be available to the residents of communities - Development of community assets as a part of the proposal is important so that current residents benefit too - Transparency with residents about the implementation of the project as well as the demographic of incoming people is key to reduce opposition

Flexibility in existing policies - Changes in cohabitation rules is important to derive maximum benefits from repurposing abandoned homes - Use type exception for abandoned single family homes is key for these to work as temporary housing facilities for the homeless - Coordinated Entry System model, as practiced in Los Angeles, will be helpful in extending the right support to the homeless efficiently

Government Support Mechanisms - City agencies must look towards these underutilized assets - Chanel the capital from short term leases with hotels towards redevelopment of abandoned homes - Debt forgiveness programs can help in stabilizing the many people who are homeless due to economic stresses - Repurposed abandoned homes must comply with Section 8, LinC, Family Self Sufficiency programs - Elected officials must pledge to increase affordable housing units in their districts irrespective of MIH 10

REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

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REPURPOSING ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CURB HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

“We’ve known for a while how many people without homes there are. Now we need to know how many homes without people there are too.”

- Sam Miller | Picture the Homeless

THANK YOU