Bill Text: NY A04974 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the affordable senior housing and services program to be administered by the housing trust fund corporation; such program shall provide payments, loans and grants for the reasonable and necessary expenses of creating, preserving or improving affordable senior housing which provides healthy aging services to residents.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to housing [A04974 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A04974-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4974 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 6, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CYMBROWITZ, BARRON, DE LA ROSA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to estab- lishing the affordable senior housing and services program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The private housing finance law is amended by adding a new 2 article 28 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE XXVIII 4 AFFORDABLE SENIOR HOUSING 5 AND SERVICES 6 Section 1240. Statement of legislative findings and purpose. 7 1241. Definitions. 8 1242. Affordable senior housing and services program. 9 § 1240. Statement of legislative findings and purpose. The legislature 10 hereby finds and declares that there exists in the state a serious shor- 11 tage of rental housing for older persons who choose to live independent- 12 ly, and who may benefit from modest basic services in order to remain 13 living independently. Providing capital funding to facilitate the 14 construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental apartments for 15 older persons over the age of sixty-two, and providing service coordi- 16 nation funds to not-for-profit organizations, will allow thousands of 17 older New Yorkers to "age-in-place" comfortably in their community, 18 reducing the likelihood of residing in an institutional setting. 19 § 1241. Definitions. As used in this article: 20 1. "Corporation" shall mean the housing trust fund corporation estab- 21 lished in section forty-five-a of this chapter. 22 2. "Eligible applicant" shall mean a person of low income, a housing 23 development fund company incorporated pursuant to article eleven of this EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09368-01-9A. 4974 2 1 chapter, a not-for-profit corporation or charitable organization which 2 has as one of its primary purposes the improvement of housing for 3 persons of low income, a wholly-owned subsidiary of such a corporation 4 or organization, a partnership at least fifty percent of the controlling 5 interest of which is held by such a corporation or organization and 6 which has agreed to limit profits or rate of return of investors in 7 accordance with a formula established or approved by the corporation or 8 a private developer which has agreed to limit profits or rate of return 9 of investors in accordance with a formula established or approved by the 10 corporation, a city, town, village or county, provided, however, that 11 the county is only acting as an administrator of a program under which 12 projects are rehabilitated or constructed or nonresidential properties 13 are converted by other eligible applicants, or a municipal housing 14 authority created pursuant to the public housing law, provided, however, 15 that any real property of such housing authority to be rehabilitated, 16 constructed or converted under this article shall not have been financed 17 pursuant to the provisions of the public housing law and shall not have 18 been owned by such authority prior to July first, nineteen hundred 19 eighty-six, and provided, further, however, that persons of low income 20 shall not be direct recipients of payments, grants or loans from the 21 corporation under this article but may receive such funds from another 22 eligible applicant. 23 3. "Affordable senior housing property" shall mean an apartment build- 24 ing or complex occupied by individuals over sixty-two years of age, who 25 live independently and at least eighty percent of whom have a total 26 household income that does not exceed eighty percent of the area median 27 income, and which apartment building or complex is not otherwise 28 required to be licensed as an adult care facility pursuant to article 29 seven of the social services law or an assisted living residence pursu- 30 ant to article forty-six-B of the public health law. 31 4. "Healthy aging services" shall mean an array of optional services 32 offered to residents of an affordable independent senior housing proper- 33 ty on a voluntary participation basis that help promote healthy aging 34 which may include, but not be limited to: establishing and maintaining 35 networking relationships with community-based services and organiza- 36 tions; providing residents with information and referral lists for 37 community services and assisting them with follow-ups; arranging for 38 educational and socialization programs for residents; helping residents 39 arrange for housekeeping, shopping, transportation, meals-on-wheels, 40 cooking and laundry services; establishing resident safety programs; 41 assisting residents to apply for government benefits; advocating for 42 residents; offering opportunities for exercise; educating residents 43 about healthy diet; and other services designed to address the needs of 44 older adults residing in senior housing facilities by helping them 45 extend their independence, improve their quality of life, and avoid 46 unnecessary hospital and nursing home use. 47 § 1242. Affordable senior housing and services program. 1. Establish- 48 ment. Within amounts appropriated or otherwise available therefor, the 49 corporation shall develop and administer an affordable senior housing 50 and services program which shall provide assistance in the form of 51 payments, grants and loans for reasonable and necessary expenses, to an 52 eligible applicant for the creation, preservation or improvement of 53 affordable senior housing properties, provided that such housing also 54 provides access to healthy aging services on a voluntary basis for all 55 residents of the affordable senior housing property.A. 4974 3 1 2. Program criteria. The corporation shall develop procedures, crite- 2 ria and requirements related to the application and award of projects 3 pursuant to this section which shall include: eligibility, market 4 demand, feasibility and funding criteria; the funding determination 5 process; supervision and evaluation of contracting applicants; report- 6 ing, budgeting and recordkeeping requirements; provisions for modifica- 7 tion and termination of contracts; and such other matters not inconsist- 8 ent with the purposes and provisions of this article as the corporation 9 shall deem necessary or appropriate. 10 3. Fund allocation. Sixty percent of the total funds awarded pursuant 11 to this article in any fiscal year shall be allocated to projects 12 located in urban areas of the state, as such term is defined in subdivi- 13 sion four of section twelve hundred thirty-one of this chapter. Forty 14 percent of the total funds awarded pursuant to this article in any 15 fiscal year shall be allocated to projects located in rural areas of the 16 state, as such term is defined in subdivision three of section twelve 17 hundred thirty-one of this chapter. 18 4. Proof of available services. Applicants shall demonstrate proof 19 that healthy aging services shall be made available to all residents of 20 the property within thirty days of initial occupancy. There shall be no 21 requirement that residents take part in such services. The property 22 owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for ensuring that such 23 services are available and that residents are made aware of the avail- 24 ability of such services. If the owner of the property or his or her 25 agent also provides services such as home care, the owner or his or her 26 agent shall not require that any resident of the property use services 27 provided and shall proactively provide information to residents about 28 the availability of other companies or organizations in the community 29 that provide the same or similar services. 30 5. Services funding through the office for the aging. The corporation 31 shall suballocate a portion of the amount appropriated for the afforda- 32 ble senior housing and services program to the office for the aging 33 which shall provide grants on a competitive basis for not-for-profit 34 organizations to provide healthy aging services. Such office shall 35 develop regulations that will ensure that funds are provided to organ- 36 izations that develop and operate affordable senior housing properties, 37 as defined in this article. The office for the aging shall provide 38 grants to organizations that have demonstrated experience working with 39 persons eligible for the program for at least three years. 40 6. Annual report. The corporation shall annually, on or before Decem- 41 ber thirty-first, submit a report to the legislature on the implementa- 42 tion of this article. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, 43 for each award made to a grantee under this article: a description of 44 such award; contract amount and cumulative total; the specific activ- 45 ities in rural and urban areas performed by such grantee; and such other 46 information as the corporation deems pertinent. 47 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
