NYC Comptroller Brad Lander announced a major investment Tuesday that he said will preserve thousands of affordable housing units and deliver “healthy returns” for retirees.
After the sudden collapse of Signature Bank last year, Lander, along with other elected officials including NYC Mayor Eric Adams and trustees from the NYC Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS), said they will invest $60 million from the NYCERS pension fund to preserve 35,000 units of affordable housing in the city.
Some of the city’s “worst landlords” had Signature Bank as a lender before the collapse, media outlets and local officials have reported over the years. The units that will be preserved are all part of the Signature portfolio, Lander said.
“Signature Bank shook our economy,” the comptroller said. “Housing advocates have long criticized Signature’s housing practices.”
Adams said he is “proud” to announce the investment from the NYCERS pension fund to preserve the mostly rent-stabilized units that were impacted by the bank’s collapse.
“This housing is critical to making our city more affordable and livable for working-class New Yorkers, and I want to thank everyone who came together to make sure we got this deal done,” the mayor said.
NYCERS is a retirement organization for New Yorkers who have worked in a variety of city jobs. The group voted on the investment in March of this year and became a 25% partner in Community Stabilization Partners, a new venture that purchased a 5% equity interest in Signature’s rent-stabilized loan portfolio. The remaining 95% is held by the FDIC.
Other organizations in the venture include Related Fund Management, Community Preservation Corporation and Neighborhood Restore, all of which have “expertise and deep roots in preserving and expanding” affordable housing, according to city officials.
“We’re here to celebrate the really remarkable partnership that came together over the year to turn what could have easily been a real crisis in the collapse of Signature Bank into an opportunity to preserve good, affordable housing for tens of thousands of New York’s working families,” Lander said.
The investment, Lander’s office said, is part of the economically targeted investment program of the five New York City Retirement Systems, managed by the New York City Comptroller Office’s Bureau of Asset Management. It is aimed at achieving “strong returns” for members and beneficiaries while helping to preserve some of the city’s stock of rent regulated housing.
Including today’s investment, NYCERS has invested nearly $700 million in rental apartments in the city, with 19 real estate fund managers, the comptroller’s office reported.
NYC Public Advocate Jumanne Williams, who has been vocal about preserving affordable housing and seeking justice for tenants who are forced to live in deplorable conditions, supports the investment.
“We should be using every tool available to address the housing and homelessness crisis, and this investment is a strong safeguard against the unsteady practices of some financial institutions and housing stock that is falling apart,” Williams said. “Any serious affordable housing plan has to heavily invest in preservation, and together with my trustee designee, I’ve been proud to support this investment in both the tenants and retirees of New York City.”
