• Agency: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (NYC HPD)
• Status: Currently Available

The City of New York has a tradition of selling unused property for one dollar to incentivize development, encourage nonprofit developers to apply for the lots, and free the city of maintenance costs. Developers are required to submit specific housing plans for the property and need to show that they have the funds to execute. New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development sold 700 buildings for a dollar between 2002 and 2006, though the pace has decreased considerably since then as the city’s stock of ownership has declined. Still, NYC has sold several hundred city-owned lots for one dollar each to non-profit, for-profit, and combination non-profit/for-profit developers since Mayor Bill deBlasio took office on January 1, 2014. The majority of these housing units developed or preserved under Housing New York are not permanently affordable, but are required to meet income restrictions for 20 to 60 years.