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Council presses HPD on FY26 cuts, vacancies and preservation capacity
Summary
At a joint City Council hearing on the fiscal 2026 executive budget, council leaders pressed the Department of Housing Preservation and Development about a roughly $1.6 billion executive plan, a sharp drop from earlier proposals, heavy reliance on federal funds, and persistent vacancies that officials say slow preservation and new construction.
Council finance leaders and housing committee chairs opened the City Council’s fiscal 2026 executive budget hearing by pressing the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to explain how its executive plan would meet the city’s housing needs while showing staffing shortfalls and shifts in funding priorities.
Council Member Justin Brannan and Council Member Pierina Sanchez framed the hearing by pointing to HPD’s executive budget of about $1.6 billion and a staffing shortfall that officials say undercuts the agency’s ability to preserve and build affordable housing.
Acting HPD Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the agency is carrying out “neighborhood by neighborhood” work across the five boroughs, highlighting recent efforts to relaunch a Neighborhood Pillars program, advance supportive housing and overhaul the Housing Connect application system. Tigani told the committees HPD’s work is “not theoretical” and described programs meant to…
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