Inside NYC's New Housing Policy with Ahmed Tigani
The Eliza at 4790 Broadway in Inwood, Manhattan.
New York City's housing landscape is at a critical tipping point. Vacancy rates are at historic lows. Construction costs are climbing. And across the five boroughs, residents—especially those in long-standing Black and Brown communities—are asking a vital question: Who is this city really being built for?
To get answers, I sat down with Ahmed Tigani, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). It was clear from the beginning of our conversation: this role is more than a title for him. It's personal.
'My mother raised two kids as a single parent in New York City,' Tigani shared. 'We relied on nonprofits and city programs to stay afloat. I never forgot what it meant to be supported by the system—and now I'm working every day to ensure it works better for others.'
But in a city facing one of its most severe affordability crises in recent memory, good intentions aren't enough. I asked Commissioner Tigani the hard questions about how HPD is ensuring that its policies reach the people who need them most—and what's being done to make the housing system more equitable, more transparent and more responsive to the needs of underserved communities.
Let's start with the scale. NYC's rental vacancy rate is just 1.4%, the lowest in nearly 60 years. That statistic becomes even more stark when you consider that for homes priced at or below $1,100/month, the vacancy rate drops to under 0.4%.
For Black and Latino residents—who represent the largest share of low-income renter households and shelter populations—these numbers translate into a daily struggle for dignity and stability. The lack of affordable housing options isn't just an inconvenience—it's a barrier to opportunity, education and economic mobility.
'There's a real supply and access issue,' Tigani acknowledged. 'But we're working to change that—not just through more construction, but by removing the unnecessary hurdles that keep people from moving into homes.'
Among the improvements: streamlining Housing Connect (the city's affordable housing portal), eliminating credit check requirements for voucher holders and automating document processing for households already in public systems.
Ahmed Tigani, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
As part of its ongoing commitment to housing equity, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) recently introduced a major policy shift aimed at expanding access to affordable homes—particularly for those who may have struggled with the complexities of the traditional application process.
Launched on May 1st, the updated policy allows affordable re-rental units—apartments that become available after previous tenants move out—to be leased without going through the Housing Connect lottery system. Instead, these units can now be marketed and leased through a wider range of accessible platforms, including HPD's official website, authorized property management firms, and popular rental platforms such as StreetEasy and Craigslist.
This streamlined approach will be in effect for at least one year, and is designed to remove administrative burdens that have historically delayed or deferred applicants. By allowing eligible New Yorkers to view and apply for units directly, the city is increasing both the transparency and efficiency of the affordable housing process.
For households from marginalized communities—who may face digital divides, language barriers, or hesitancy in navigating government systems—this change opens a new, more intuitive pathway toward housing stability.
Commissioner Tigani noted that this effort reflects HPD's broader mission to improve equity through systemic reform. 'If the process itself is inaccessible, then affordability is just a number on paper,' he said. 'This is about giving people more direct tools to access housing in real time.'
The policy also represents a broader pivot toward using existing inventory more effectively, recognizing that new construction alone cannot meet the urgent demand.
One of the most encouraging themes that emerged from our discussion was HPD's growing emphasis on preservation, not just production. While new housing remains essential, keeping current residents in their homes—especially in gentrifying areas—must be part of the long-term strategy.
Yet, significant challenges remain. Disparities in housing access, awareness gaps in underserved communities and rising market pressures continue to threaten the long-term stability of Black and Brown residents across the five boroughs.
HPD is investing in programs like HomeFix, which helps low-income and senior homeowners with repairs. The revived J-51 tax abatement provides landlords with incentives to maintain buildings without displacing tenants. Meanwhile, the Homeowner Help Desk—initially a pilot in Bed-Stuy—is now a citywide tool connecting New Yorkers with legal services, housing counselors and mortgage guidance.
'Preservation is a form of protection,' Tigani said. 'If we don't help legacy homeowners and long-time tenants, we risk erasing the very culture that makes these communities strong.'
This approach has been embedded into HPD's neighborhood planning framework. In Brownsville, over $1 billion in collective investment has supported not only affordable housing construction but also upgrades to local parks, infrastructure, and youth facilities. In East Harlem and the South Bronx, community-led plans have helped shape zoning decisions and resource allocation.
NYC HPD Plan for affordable housing
When it comes to city-led planning, skepticism among communities of color is warranted. From redlining to urban renewal to unchecked gentrification, history has shown how easily voices can be dismissed and displacement justified in the name of 'progress.'
So I pressed Tigani: How is HPD building lasting trust with the communities most impacted by housing policy?
He pointed to HPD's Neighborhood Planning Playbook, a public tool that outlines the agency's approach to inclusive development. Engagement begins with surveys and multilingual community meetings. The findings are compiled into 'visioning reports,' which directly inform developer RFPs and city investments.
'For any RFP we release, we require that at least 25% of the development team be either a nonprofit or MWBE,' Tigani explained. 'It's not enough to build in a community—you need to build with the community.'
HPD has also broadened its outreach strategy:
'These aren't just buildings,' Tigani said. 'They're reflections of what people told us they needed.'
The Eliza at 4790 Broadway in Inwood, Manhattan.
Zoning reform may not sound exciting, but it's one of the most powerful levers in shaping equity across a city. NYC's 'City of Yes' initiative is aiming to do just that—modernize outdated zoning laws to allow more deeply affordable housing across all neighborhoods, not just those already burdened.
But some community leaders have expressed concerns: Will this lead to more luxury towers in historically Black neighborhoods? Will the benefits actually reach those most in need?
To address that, the city has developed the Equitable Development Data Explorer (EDDIE). Any large development or rezoning proposal must now include a racial impact study and displacement risk index, ensuring that decisions are made with full transparency about who might be affected.
Tigani expressed, 'It's about leveling the information field. If communities have the data, they can have a stronger say in the future of their neighborhoods.'
What struck me most throughout our conversation was Tigani's insistence that housing is about more than walls and roofs—it's about healing, stability and future-building.
When asked what he hopes his leadership brings to the city, his answer was both personal and profound.
'I want people to feel our urgency. We can't wait when families are struggling this deeply,' he said. 'But I also want them to feel seen. To know that this system isn't just reacting—it's evolving.'
And for many residents across Harlem, Flatbush, Jamaica and the South Bronx, that evolution can't come soon enough.
Because equitable housing is not just an economic issue—it's a cultural one. It's about who gets to plant roots, pass down wealth and build futures in the city they call home.
Tigani's work highlights a pivotal transformation in New York City's housing strategy—shifting the focus from mere development to prioritizing access, equity and the preservation of communities. Under Tigani's leadership, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) has initiated substantial reforms aimed at simplifying the affordable housing process and enhancing community engagement.
While HPD has established more robust frameworks for neighborhood involvement and housing preservation, the continuation of this progress will depend on sustained oversight, effective inter-agency collaboration, and supportive legislation.
The success of New York City's evolving housing landscape will not only be measured by the quantity of housing units produced but also by the inclusivity of those who benefit, the stability of long-standing residents and the empowerment of historically underserved communities to flourish.
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She writes that "a sliver of connection can be difficult for someone like me to find in a novel that does not speak much to race and ethnicity," noting the complete absence of Black characters. She also describes her pause at the protagonist Winston Smith's "despicable" misogyny, but ultimately chooses to continue reading, writing: "I know the difference between a flawed character and a flawed story." "I'm enjoying the novel on its own terms, not as a classic but as a good story; that is, until Winston reveals himself to be a problematic character," she writes. "For example, we learn of him: 'He disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones.' Whoa, wait a minute, Orwell." That framing was enough to provoke sharp critique from novelist and essayist Walter Kirn on the podcast America This Week, co-hosted with journalist Matt Taibbi. Kirn characterized the foreword as a kind of ideological overreach. "Thank you for your trigger warning for 1984," he said. "It is the most 1984ish thing I've ever f***ing read." In which you will learn that the current leading paperback version of 1984, its official Orwell-estate-approved 75th anniversary edition, includes a 1984-ish trigger-warning introduction calling the novel's hero "problematic" because of his "misogyny." I am not making this up. — Walter Kirn (@walterkirn) June 2, 2025 Later in the episode, which debuted on June 1, Kirn blasted what he saw as an imposed "permission structure" by publishers and academic elites. "It's a sort of Ministry of Truthism," he said, referring to the Ministry of Truth that features prominently in the dystopian novel. "They're giving you a little guidebook to say, 'Here's how you're supposed to feel when you read this.'" Conservative commentator such as Ed Morrissey described the foreword as part of "an attempt to rob [Orwell's work] of meaning by denigrating it as 'problematic.'" 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"Love heals? In 1984?" Taibbi asked. "The whole thing ends with Winston broken, saying he loves Big Brother," the symbol of the totalitarian state at the heart of the book. Kirn laughed and added, "It's the kind of revisionist uplift you get from a book club discussion after someone just watched The Handmaid's Tale." Photographs of Eric Blair, whose pen name was George Orwell, from his Metropolitan Police file, c.1940. Photographs of Eric Blair, whose pen name was George Orwell, from his Metropolitan Police file, c.1940. The National Archives UK Perkins-Valdez, a Black writer, Harvard graduate and professor of literature at American University, also noted the novel's lack of racial representation: "That sliver of connection can be difficult for someone like me to find in a novel that does not speak much to race and ethnicity at all." 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Cultural Overreach The 75th anniversary edition of George Orwell's 1984 has become a lightning rod in debates over alleged wokeness, censorship and the role of historical context in reading classic literature. The 75th anniversary edition of George Orwell's 1984 has become a lightning rod in debates over alleged wokeness, censorship and the role of historical context in reading classic literature. Newsweek / Penguin Random House While critics like Kirn view Perkins-Valdez's new foreword as a symptom of virtue signaling run amok, others see it as part of a long-standing literary dialogue. Laura Beers, a historian at American University and author of Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century, acknowledged that such reactions reflect deeper political divides. But she defended the legitimacy of approaching Orwell through modern ethical and social lenses. "What makes 1984 such a great novel is that it was written to transcend a specific historical context," she told Newsweek. "Although it has frequently been appropriated by the right as a critique of 'socialism,' it was never meant to be solely a critique of Stalin's Russia." Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Courtesy American University "Rather," she added, "it was a commentary on how absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the risk to all societies, including democracies like Britain and the United States, of the unchecked concentration of power." Beers also addressed the role of interpretive material in shaping the reading experience. "Obviously, yes, in that 'interpretive forewords' give a reader an initial context in which to situate the texts that they are reading," she said. "That said, such forewords are more often a reflection on the attitudes and biases of their own time." While the foreword has prompted the familiar battle lines playing out across the Trump-era culture wars, Beers sees the conversation itself as in keeping with Orwell's legacy. "By attempting to place Orwell's work in conversation with changing values and historical understandings in the decades since he was writing," she said, "scholars like Perkins-Valdez are exercising the very freedom to express uncomfortable and difficult opinions that Orwell explicitly championed."
