The construction and rehabilitation of thousands of affordable units was delayed because money was earmarked for projects state housing officials knew were unlikely to go through, according to an audit issued by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
The audit focused on the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, which a program that uses state money to create and preserve housing for low-income households. The program awards as much as $44.2 million in loans and grants annually, Capital New York reported.
The Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Program is run by the state’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal. According to DiNapoli, the delays were caused by “questionable awarding of funds to projects often deemed infeasible by the program’s own staff.”
Between 2008 and 2013, the program awarded $209 million to help construct 5,850 units across approximately 111 projects.
Of the 5,850 affordable housing units financed with money from the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Program between 2008 and 2013, 4,400 were delayed at least six months because of issues with the state’s review process, according to the audit. [Capital NY] — Claire Moses