Key Takeaways
- • Four New York City municipal pension funds are investing $300 million into the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, according to Comptroller Mark Levine, who announced the allocation Thursday.
- • The investment is the first allocation of its kind under Levine's plan to direct $4 billion in city pension funds over four years to apartment construction.
- • The city's five municipal pension funds hold more than $326 billion in assets, per the comptroller's office, and have directed over $500 million to the trust since 2002.
- • The trust has financed more than 44,000 homes in New York City over four decades and plans to finance 10,000 more, requiring union labor on its projects.
- • The new capital will specifically fund an upcoming loan for improvements to a large Brooklyn co-op, with the trust's investment strategy targeting a competitive return.
Summary
Four New York City municipal pension funds are investing $300 million in the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, a move Comptroller Mark Levine announced Thursday as an effort to address the city's housing shortage. The allocation is the first of its kind since Levine unveiled a plan to direct $4 billion in city pension capital over the next four years toward new apartment construction.
The backdrop is a tight rental market. Less than 1% of apartments priced under $2,400 a month are available to rent, according to the city's most recent housing survey, and median asking rents have reached $4,200 a month, according to an analysis by listings site StreetEasy. Levine, who campaigned on using the comptroller's fiscal oversight and pension management powers to address the crisis, said the pace of investment must increase because projects with zoning approval and developers in place are stalling for lack of financing.
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, associated with the nation's largest federation of labor unions, has helped build more than 44,000 homes in New York City over the past four decades, according to its website, and officials plan to finance 10,000 more. Its projects are typically priced for middle-income residents or mix income levels and require union labor. Recent examples include a 278-unit complex on West 22nd Street in Chelsea, the 330-unit luxury Ellery on West 43rd Street, where a quarter of units are reserved for low- and middle-income tenants through the city's housing lottery, and the 858-unit Brooklyn Crossing near the Barclays Center, where 30% of units have capped rents. The trust has also financed improvements at Penn South in Manhattan and Electchester in Queens.
Housing Investment Trust Marketing Officer Lesyllee White said the new funds will help complete an upcoming loan for improvements to another large Brooklyn co-op, which she declined to identify before closing. According to federal filings, the trust's strategy prioritizes a competitive rate of return, union labor and affordable housing. Levine said the city's pension funds have directed more than $500 million to the trust since 2002 and have seen steady returns, a requirement for such investments.
Levine framed the investment as part of a broader labor role in city housing, noting that unions financed landmark co-ops such as Co-op City and Rochdale Village, and that the model has since shifted toward mixed market-rate and affordable buildings. Developers backed by building trades union funds, rather than city pension dollars, are pursuing projects at the former Flushing Airport site and Atlantic Yards.
The backdrop is a tight rental market. Less than 1% of apartments priced under $2,400 a month are available to rent, according to the city's most recent housing survey, and median asking rents have reached $4,200 a month, according to an analysis by listings site StreetEasy. Levine, who campaigned on using the comptroller's fiscal oversight and pension management powers to address the crisis, said the pace of investment must increase because projects with zoning approval and developers in place are stalling for lack of financing.
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, associated with the nation's largest federation of labor unions, has helped build more than 44,000 homes in New York City over the past four decades, according to its website, and officials plan to finance 10,000 more. Its projects are typically priced for middle-income residents or mix income levels and require union labor. Recent examples include a 278-unit complex on West 22nd Street in Chelsea, the 330-unit luxury Ellery on West 43rd Street, where a quarter of units are reserved for low- and middle-income tenants through the city's housing lottery, and the 858-unit Brooklyn Crossing near the Barclays Center, where 30% of units have capped rents. The trust has also financed improvements at Penn South in Manhattan and Electchester in Queens.
Housing Investment Trust Marketing Officer Lesyllee White said the new funds will help complete an upcoming loan for improvements to another large Brooklyn co-op, which she declined to identify before closing. According to federal filings, the trust's strategy prioritizes a competitive rate of return, union labor and affordable housing. Levine said the city's pension funds have directed more than $500 million to the trust since 2002 and have seen steady returns, a requirement for such investments.
Levine framed the investment as part of a broader labor role in city housing, noting that unions financed landmark co-ops such as Co-op City and Rochdale Village, and that the model has since shifted toward mixed market-rate and affordable buildings. Developers backed by building trades union funds, rather than city pension dollars, are pursuing projects at the former Flushing Airport site and Atlantic Yards.
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