New website launches for affordable housing rentals without lotteries
Thanks to new policy changes, residents can now find vacant affordable housing units on a new website operated by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The site will be updated with apartments that become available after a previous lottery winner moves out.
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'It's still in the early stages, but we're updating it regularly as more re-rental and re-sale units become available,' said HPD Deputy Press Secretary Natasha Kersey.
Through the website, residents can find both affordable rentals and apartments for sale that are available directly through housing property managers. Those interested can bypass the affordable housing lottery application when applying for the apartments.
It's part of a host of changes meant to address a backlog of re-rentals, or affordable housing units that become available after a lottery winner leaves their apartment. Units can be listed on both property manager websites or on popular rental sites like StreetEasy.
More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State
Those vacancies were previously only made available to lottery applicants who opted into receiving alerts for re-rentals and re-sales.
'This temporary change helps people get matched with the right home at the right time as we revamp Housing Connect and its functionality,' said Kersey in a previous statement to PIX11 News.
This easier application method for re-rentals and re-sales is temporary, but will remain in effect for at least a year.
Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
NYC housing lottery applicants' personal information exposed online in data breach, investigation finds
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It often appeared as one of the top results in Microsoft Bing, Yahoo and Duck Duck Go when searching applicants' names. Those links included links to other pages with hundreds of thousands of applicants' names, numbers and incomes. Some pages even included Social Security numbers. "Is that why I've been getting so many scam calls?" one applicant wondered. "Of course it worries me, because it's not only my information, it's my family's information," said another. That online platform is managed by Reside New York, one of the companies the city approved to review tenant applications on behalf of private building developers in the program. The city refers to Reside New York and other approved companies as "Qualified Marketing Agents." Neither the city nor Reside New York agreed to interviews with us, but hours after we reached out to the company, we discovered the information was no longer publicly viewable. Reside New York's Executive Director Sam Rosenberg sent us the following email: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We take the privacy of our applicants extremely seriously and always maintain strict data protection protocols. We are reviewing the situation to understand what occurred and to ensure appropriate safeguards remain in place. At this time, the information in question is not accessible online, and we are taking all necessary steps to protect the privacy of our applicants." CBS News New York's investigative reporter Tim McNicholas asked NYU Tandon Computer Science Professor Justin Cappos if that means the information is gone. "Almost certainly the answer is no for things like this," Cappos explained. He called it a goldmine for fraudsters. "It's entirely possible that this information was already retrieved by malicious parties," said Cappos, adding, "If I'm an attacker or scammer, I can go and, obviously, if I call you up on the phone and say, 'Hey, I'm from the Housing Office, I need you to give me a deposit for this apartment.'" The city's Housing Preservation and Development Department, or HPD, which oversees the Housing Connect program, sent us the following statement: "Every day, HPD works tirelessly to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to a safe, affordable place to call home, and we know how important it is that New Yorkers have faith that when they apply, their data is secure. We have communicated to Reside that this incident is an unacceptable violation of the standards for data privacy, handling, and security that we require, and expect, from all of our Qualified Marketing Agents. They will be receiving a corrective action plan from HPD in the immediate future. We understand how frustrating this is to New Yorkers, and even though HPD was not directly at fault, HPD is taking this situation very seriously, and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that this does not happen ever again." In case there's any chance the applications are still out there, we are not naming the victims we spoke with. They say they are frustrated that, in a city where affordable housing is so hard to find, one of the few options caused an invasion of their privacy. "They should really, at the very least, show that they're changing it moving forward," one applicant said. "At least they should send a letter to apologize that they did something wrong," said another. Those applicants said they haven't heard anything about this from either Reside New York or the city. HPD said this was not a "hack," and the information was viewable because of the way the portal was configured. The agency also said it understands the importance of data privacy and alerted Reside New York as soon as we reached out, and they are now looking into what else can be done to protect the affected applicants. The applications didn't appear in Google's search results when we used Google to search applicant names. We asked Google why that it is, but it said it can't explain or investigate because the links are gone now. We also reached out to the other sites, and only Microsoft responded, saying it immediately removed the results from Bing when it discovered the issue.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
BFC PARTNERS BREAK GROUND AT 1709 SURF AVENUE, CAPPING OFF TRANSFORMATION OF HISTORIC CONEY ISLAND
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The New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Citi and Goldman Sachs partnered with BFC on the development, scheduled to be completed in 2028. "Finding a home in Coney Island should not be a rollercoaster ride, which is why we're creating over 1,200 new homes to help more families live in this iconic seaside neighborhood," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "Along with tens of millions of dollars for new streets, sewers, and a renovated ice rink, these homes will make sure that Coney Island is not only a great place for families to spend time together but also a great place to live as well. Along with BFC Partners and Citi, we are excited to bring this ambitious vision for Coney Island to life. But we're not stopping with Brooklyn — our administration is breaking affordable housing records over and over again and advancing generational projects across all five boroughs as we continue to make New York City the best place to raise a family." "For far too many New Yorkers, the ability to secure affordable housing is a significant challenge. I am grateful to BFC Partners and my colleagues across state and city government for their work to get the ball rolling on 420 new affordable, safe and high-quality apartments," said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08). "We cannot allow our city to become a playground for the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected. Today is an important step towards making sure that every New Yorker can afford to remain in the greatest city in the world." "As we kick off a momentous, record-breaking week in housing, there is no better place to celebrate than in iconic Coney Island" said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrion Jr. "As the most pro-housing administration in city history, we are excited to partner with BFC Partners to break ground on over 1,200 affordable homes in such a consummately New York neighborhood." It is exciting to see BFC Partners break ground on another project in Coney Island, delivering over 420 new affordable units by Coney Island's iconic waterfront," said Executive Director for Housing Leila Bozorg. "Phase 3 rounds out BFC Partners' goal of delivering over 1,200 affordable homes in Coney Island, adding onto this administration's strong commitment to delivering affordable housing in the neighborhood and throughout the city." "Our mission is as clear as it is urgent: to ensure that every New Yorker has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home. Delivering over 420 new affordable homes on Coney Island is an opportunity to invest in a community with deep roots, credible needs, and deserving of the kind of investment that fosters the enduring cultural significance to our City's history. The near future delivery of these units will be another step forward in helping households citywide have more opportunities to thrive in more places across the five boroughs," said Acting HPD Commissioner, Ahmed Tigani. "Alongside other planning agency partners like DCP and EDC, today's groundbreaking makes the collective work of this Administration tangible. This isn't just progress—we're building momentum. We're grateful to our partners BFC Partners, HDC, and Citi for helping make this possible." "Once complete, the final phase of this development will deliver more than 400 affordable homes to the Coney Island community," said HDC President Eric Enderlin. "Amid our city's growing housing crisis, HDC is proud to join our partners to finance transformative projects that directly address the housing needs of New Yorkers." "The need for more affordable housing in our neighborhoods has never been greater, and that's why I'm proud to be on hand for this momentous groundbreaking. We fought hard to make Coney Island III a reality. This is a big step in the march towards affordability for our community and all New Yorkers," said City Council Member Justin Brannan. "In the face of a steepening housing crisis, providing 100% affordable housing is essential for the Coney Island community," said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. "Thank you to BFC Partners, HPD, HDC, and Citi for breaking ground on the final phase of this historic housing investment for Coney Island. Projects like these have the potential to help Brooklynites thrive, and I look forward to working together on future initiatives to bring more affordable housing across Brooklyn." "Beginning construction on this site brings us one step closer to completing our goals of transforming a large strip of iconic Surf Avenue into 100% affordable, spacious and attractive housing that individuals and families will be proud to call home," said Donald Capoccia, Principal, BFC Partners. "We are especially grateful to our city partners and to Citi for their unwavering support and collaboration. Together, we're building lasting affordability, opportunity, and impact for Coney Island." "Citi Community Capital is pleased to have been a part of the team that BFC Partners assembled, providing construction debt and long-term equity, that helped finance 1709 Surf Avenue. It is another step forward in the City's efforts to increase the supply of quality affordable housing that is so desperately needed throughout the five boroughs," said Richard Gerwitz, Managing Director at Citi. "So many New York families come to Coney Island to make unforgettable memories, but living in a thriving, beach-front community is still just a dream for most. At Goldman Sachs, we deploy capital in places and projects that unlock long-term economic growth across New York. We've been invested in building new, affordable housing, childcare and community spaces at this site since 2018 because we know it will deliver returns for families and generations to come," said Asahi Pompey, Chair of the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Located near the Stillwell Avenue subway station where the B, D, F, Q, and N lines converge, the new construction provides residents with direct and convenient access to all parts of New York City. Additionally, it provides BFC Partners with an avenue to support the City and State's goals for more transit-oriented development. "We are especially proud of our work in Coney Island, where projects like this play a vital role in strengthening and stabilizing New York City's neighborhoods," said Joseph Ferrara, Principal, BFC Partners. "Whether through new construction or rehabilitation, our investment and dedication to New York City and to communities throughout is strong." The second phase of the Coney Island projects,1607 Surf Avenue, was completed in 2024 and its 376 units are nearly 100% leased and occupied. Phase I was completed in 2021, and its 446 units are fully occupied. On Staten Island, BFC Partners, in partnership with NYCHA, is transforming the West Brighton Houses through the PACT program and is nearing 50% completion. In the fall of 2024, BFC Partners celebrated the grand opening of The Pearl, a 269-unit residence, 100% affordable, with 50% reserved for formerly unhoused older adults. "At BFC Partners, we remain committed to building and preserving high-quality affordable housing," said Win Wharton, Principal, BFC Partners. "Projects like this remind us of the vital role of new development in strengthening and stabilizing communities across New York." About BFC Partners BFC Partners is a full-service, real estate development firm that creates community-first, urban development solutions. Since 1984, BFC has been at the forefront of developing high quality affordable, mixed-income, and market rate housing. We are dedicated to revitalizing communities and improving the lives of our residents and neighbors. As leaders in the field, our government, financial, and community partners seek us out to help start new programs and undertake complicated projects. For more information, please visit: CONTACT: Barbara Wagner Katie Prael Barbara Wagner Communications Barbara Wagner Communication (917) 751-4387 (646) 737-4600 barbara@ katie@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE BFC Partners
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
Poppi consumers could be entitled to a payment from a $8.9M class action settlement
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Have you ever tried a sip of the sparkling prebiotic drink Poppi? You may be eligible for a payment from an $8.9 million class action settlement due to claims that the company improperly advertised its soda products as 'gut healthy.' More Local News Consumers who purchased any flavor or package size of Poppi beverages between Jan. 23, 2020, and July 18, 2025, can be eligible. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit claim the advertising was not supported by scientific evidence. Despite the settlement, the company has admitted no wrongdoing. Consumers can receive a cash payment based on the number of products purchased. Customers with proof of purchase can receive the following: Up to $0.75 per single can $3 per four-pack $6 per eight-pack $9 per 12- or 15-pack There is a $16 cap without proof of purchase. Claims must be submitted online or postmarked by Sept. 26, 2025. To fill out a claim form, click here. Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
