New York City is relying on nonprofits to save its distressed rent-stabilized housing stock, according to Bisnow. But they have yet to become the white knight that renters need. In April 2025, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development relaunched its Neighborhood Pillars program, which aims to provide financing to nonprofits seeking to acquire and rehabilitate multifamily properties. More than a year later, the city has yet to close on a project, HPD Commissioner Dina Levy said this week. Nonprofits, mission-driven organizations, and minority and women-owned business enterprises can tap the Pillars program to fund transactions. HPD provides a subsidy of up to $380,000 per dwelling unit, along with full or partial property tax exemptions. To be eligible, a building must exhibit signs of financial or physical distress, such as having high levels of housing code violations. In exchange, the new ownership must rehabilitate the property, abide by affordability limits and set aside at least 20% of units for formerly homeless individuals. An HPD spokesperson declined to provide specifics on the project but said in a statement the program is “an important tool in the city’s toolbox” to stabilize and preserve the city’s affordable housing stock. Tenant advocates have pushed for nonprofit and community ownership models as a way to preserve affordable housing. Efforts to maximize returns may pressure private owners to raise rents or minimize maintenance costs. Still, nonprofits have said they are facing the same strains as their for-profit counterparts. In addition to having to make mortgage payments based on valuations made prior to HSTPA, inflation has ballooned. Since 2017, the cost of insurance has surged by 110%, administration costs have risen by 51%, and repair and maintenance needs have increased by 35%, according to a report by low-income housing tax credit syndicators Enterprise and National Equity Fund.
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