It is critical we address this crisis, as New York is aging rapidly and research shows that the majority of older adults would prefer the opportunity age in their community, surrounded by the networks of support built over a lifetime. Moreover, we’re all aging, and we all have a stake in ensuring there are affordable options to call home throughout the lifecourse.

The release of the plan signals to New Yorkers an understanding of the dire nature of today’s housing crisis and a commitment to taking meaningful action to address such a plan.

Today, more than half of older renters are rent-burdened, as are a third of older homeowners. Further, roughly 2,000 older New Yorkers are living in homeless shelters, a number that is expected to triple by 2030 without significant intervention. LiveOn NY’s own research has found that there are more than 200,000 older adults languishing on waiting lists for affordable housing through the HUD 202 program, each waiting for 7-10 years on average for a unit to become available. This challenge is mirrored by the thousands of applications that come flooding in each and every time a new affordable senior housing lottery opens on Housing Connect.

Led by the New York Housing Conference, LiveOn NY joined a coalition of 16 organizations to craft our newly released report calling on New York State to make a new, expanded 5-year capital plan and investment.

Recommendations in the report are centered around a call for a new, five-year $6 Billion Affordable Housing Plan and continued reoccurring program spending, totaling $1 billion over the next five years.

Many older New York rely on affordable senior housing with services to comfortably age in place. The need for affordable senior housing with services continues to rise with many older New Yorkers living on fixed incomes that cannot keep up with rising rent cost; experiencing mobility challenges that limit housing options within an aging rental-stock. In 2016, LiveOn NY found that an estimated 200,000 older adults were on waiting lists for housing through the HUD202 program in New York City.

LiveOn NY was proud to join the New York Housing Conference led advocacy effort calling on the City to restore capital funding for the City’s affordable housing program in the FY21 budget. This #NoCapitalCuts Campaign brought together stakeholders from a broad spectrum of housing providers, including the Supportive Housing Network, NYSAFAH, Enterprise Community Partners, and more. The campaign also included sign ons from a number of LiveOn NY members, including, Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation, Elmcor Youth and Adult Activities, RiseBoro Community Partnership Inc., and Selfhelp Realty Group.