Council hearing spotlights Housing Connect flaws; HPD outlines redesign, supports notification and in‑person assistance bills

At a New York City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings hearing, Chair Council Member Birina Sanchez focused the panel on long‑standing problems with the city’s affordable housing lottery platform, Housing Connect, and on three bills intended to improve applicant outreach and in‑person assistance.

The bills discussed were Intro 1264 (allowing applicants to apply directly to specific rerental units on Housing Connect), Intro 1265 (allowing applicants to designate a designee to receive lottery notifications by email or text), and Intro 1266 (establishing an in‑person Housing Connect assistance program at community centers and recreation centers). The hearing also included separate testimony on Intro 1207, which would allow time spent in a New York State‑approved apprenticeship to count toward the supervised work requirement for a high‑pressure boiler operating engineer license.

“Today, the New York City Council is holding an oversight hearing on … the affordable housing lottery and the flawed platform that our city uses to administer the lottery, Housing Connect,” Chair Birina Sanchez said in opening remarks, framing the hearing around accessibility and system performance. Sanchez cited the scale of demand: between January 2014 and June 2020, she said, Housing Connect received 29,000,000 applications compared with 27,819 leases signed, “one lease issued for every 1,000 applications.”

Acting Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Ahmed Tigani described steps the agency is taking and reiterated that a full redesign of Housing Connect is already underway. “We’re not managing…this Housing Connect system. We’re breaking it down. We’re taking in and assessing feedback, and we are rebuilding it to be faster, more responsive, and easier to navigate,” Tigani told the committee. He cited recent administrative changes HPD has implemented: removing some credit checks for voucher holders, reducing paperwork and notarization requirements in marketing guidance, expanded email outreach, trainings and short how‑to videos, and a Housing Ambassador Program that HPD says involves about 50 community‑based organizations at roughly 60 locations across the five boroughs.

HPD provided data and operational details. The agency noted that the Mayor’s Management Report shows an average of roughly 191 days for HPD to approve a winning lottery applicant after selection, a delay that can leave units vacant for months. HPD said it advertised more than 300 lotteries in 2024 and that in that year 14,654 households moved into HPD‑subsidized housing, including more than 10,000 through Housing Connect lotteries. HPD also said there were about 31 rental opportunities then advertised that represented 2,675 units citywide. HPD reported handling roughly 26,293 paper applications in 2023 and said about 63 marketing agents are prequalified to carry out lottery marketing work.

Community groups and providers — including the University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP), West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center, UHAB, Volunteer of America Greater New York, and Kingsbridge Heights Community Center — urged faster fixes and new functions. UNHP’s Jamila Abramson told the committee her group submitted about 13,000 lottery applications for Bronx residents but said only 36 of those applicants moved into Housing Connect apartments while the group helped them: “Only 36 families have won the golden ticket out of those 13,000 lotteries we’ve submitted,” she said, arguing the portal’s affordability bands and search filters often mislead Bronx applicants about what units they actually qualify for.

Provider testimony repeatedly asked for three changes: (1) account‑level or provider portal access so organizations can monitor and act on many client accounts without logging into each account individually; (2) a clearer, accurate front‑end filter that does not surface units applicants cannot afford (for example showing listings whose rent exceeds the filter max); and (3) funded expansion of the Housing Ambassador and Ready‑to‑Rent supports. West Bronx Housing’s Joshua Stevenson described the operational burden of checking hundreds of accounts and said his group has dropped regular Housing Connect assistance because the workload is unsustainable. Eric Urquiza, a West Bronx housing specialist, described common barriers: locked accounts when applicants change phone numbers or emails, confusion about messages, and the need for a live helpline and text alerts.

HPD described technical and procurement realities. Tigani said HPD is the owner of the Housing Connect technology, works in partnership with HDC (Housing Development Corporation) and with the city’s Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI), and uses an outside vendor (identified in the hearing as ProTech) as a maintenance partner. He told the committee that the city is exploring cloud hosting options subject to security requirements, that HPD staff and OTI provide operational support, and that the planned overhaul will include extensive stakeholder roundtables and user testing over the coming year. HPD acknowledged some outages occur with little advance notice if problems arise suddenly but said planned outages are communicated to marketing agents and posted on the website.

HPD also described an administrative change announced the week of the hearing: a temporary, roughly one‑year waiver intended to allow some owners and marketing agents to use alternate, non‑Housing Connect methods to fill rerental vacancies—so long as they maintain transparency and the required logs and remain subject to HPD review. Several nonprofit developers said that flexibility will help them quickly fill units that were otherwise remaining vacant for many months and is welcome short‑term relief while pilot changes are evaluated.

Several witnesses urged HPD to require better notifications and allow applicants to designate a representative (a caseworker, family member or provider) to receive lottery alerts. Legal Aid and other advocates recommended standardized consent forms so providers can legally receive and act on applicant notices. Providers and advocates also asked for more frequent marketing agent trainings and faster approval of newly trained agents: HPD said training already occurs but that prequalification and quality controls are required before agents receive access to applicant files.

What was not decided: the committee convened the hearing as legislative oversight and to air the bills; there were no committee votes on the housing bills during the session. Council members pressed for timelines and benchmarks; HPD offered to return with additional data on outages, batch rejection rates per marketing agent, borough breakdowns of applications, and a timeline for specific redesign milestones.

Why it matters: Housing Connect is the principal channel for millions of applicants to access subsidized rental units in New York City. Advocates told the committee that technological barriers, user interface problems, high advertised income bands, and long processing times all reduce the system’s ability to match qualified low‑income New Yorkers — particularly seniors, limited‑English speakers and residents without regular internet access — to available housing. Providers warned that continued vacancy delays also threaten building finances and long‑term maintenance.

What’s next: HPD said the Housing Connect overhaul will be a major project through the coming year and invited continued council collaboration and user testing. The committee did not vote on the three housing bills at the hearing; sponsors and HPD staff said they will continue to work with community groups to refine legislative language and policy options.