SUBJECT:

PURPOSE:

Assembly Hearing Room
Room 1923, 19th Floor

Tuesday
August 8, 2006
11:30 am
250 Broadway
New York, NY

Please see the reverse side for a list of subjects to which witnesses may direct their testimony, and for a description of the bills which will be discussed at the hearing.

Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committee at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

Oral testimony will be limited to five minutes duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible. In the absence of a request, witnesses will be scheduled in the order in which reply forms are postmarked.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee's interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

Since the late 1990's, owners of thousands of Mitchell-Lama units have opted to leave this affordable housing program. In fact, according to a May 2006 report by the Office of the New York City Comptroller, more than 25,000 Mitchell-Lama units have either withdrawn from the program or filed a notice to withdraw since 2004. As units leave this program a valuable source for affordable housing in New York State is lost.

Further, the Appellate Division, First Department, in In re KSLM-Columbus Apartments Inc. v. New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, allowed the owner of Westgate Apartments to apply for rent adjustments to bring the rents to market rates. The court case held that DHCR may rule that the transition from the Mitchell-Lama program constitutes a "unique and peculiar circumstance." Such a ruling would effectively allow rents to exceed the former Mitchell-Lama rents, bringing them to market levels and in the process possibly pricing existing tenants out of their homes and removing these units from the affordable housing stock.

1. What can be done to encourage owners to remain in the system and continue offering below-market rents for middle-income New Yorkers? What specific regulatory and/or legislative actions would you recommend to increase Program retention?

2. What effect will the KSLM-Columbus Apartments Inc ruling have on other Mitchell-Lama developments? What incentives can be provided to owners to remain in the Mitchell-Lama program in light of this ruling? Would A.10596 (Bing) effectively address this court decision?

3. The Assembly introduced A.2454 (Lopez) at the request of the Mayor of New York City. The bill provides an incentive for owners to remain in the program by authorizing city-supervised Mitchell-Lama rental developments to pay dividends in excess of 6% if approved by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and have its units subject to annual rent increases established by the Rent Guidelines Board. Would this incentive, if any, be enough to encourage owners to remain in the Mitchell-Lama program? What other incentives should be included in this or other legislation?

4. How can the State and its municipalities work to replace the loss of Mitchell-Lama housing? What would be the costs and benefits of creating a new moderate-income housing initiative modeled after the Mitchell-Lama Program?

5. A.11663 (Bing) would require a standard form and procedure for the casting of proxy votes or absentee ballots in any matter requiring a shareholder vote. In addition, it would prohibit the use of absentee ballots or proxies in votes to authorize the dissolution or reconstitution of such mutual company and provides that a mutual company may not dissolve or reconstitute except by an affirmative vote representing two-thirds of the dwelling units, with one vote counted for each dwelling unit. What effects would this legislation have?

PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM

Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on The Future of Mitchell-Lama Housing are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail it to:

Caryn Canfield
Legislative Associate
Assembly Committee on Housing
Room 513 - Capitol
Albany, New York 12248
Email: canfieldc@assembly.state.ny.us
Phone: (518) 455-4355
Fax: (518) 455-4128

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