New York City Employees Retirement System’s $60 Million Investment Advances Affordable Housing Stabilization and Delivers for New York City Retirees
Our Bureau
New York, NY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and trustees of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) on Wednesday announced an investment of up to $60 million to preserve rent-stabilized housing units impacted by the sudden collapse of Signature Bank last spring. The investment was made in Community Stabilization Partners — a joint venture led by Community Preservation Corporation with Related Fund Management and Neighborhood Restore HDFC — leading affordable housing providers in New York City. The investment represents the largest single investment by NYCERS in preserving New York City’s rent stabilization stock and will both advance the stabilization of much-needed affordable housing and deliver competitive returns for retirees.
“Today, we are proud to announce a $60 million investment from our NYCERS pension fund that will go toward preserving 35,000 units of affordable housing,” said Mayor Adams. “This housing is critical to making our city more affordable and livable for working-class New Yorkers, and I want to thank everyone who came together to make sure we got this deal done, including Community Preservation Corporation, Related Fund Management, Neighborhood Housing Restore, our trustees, and our partners in labor. When we came into office two years ago, we had a mission: protect public safety, rebuild the economy, and make this city more livable for hardworking New Yorkers and this investment is a step toward all three of those goals.”
“Today’s announcement is a shining example of creative and prudent investments we can make to preserve existing housing that we simply cannot afford to lose,” said Comptroller Lander. “Expanding and protecting our affordable housing supply through sound investment decisions is a major priority of my office, in partnership with NYCERS trustees. I am grateful to my fellow trustees for their work to secure this opportunity and thrilled to collaborate with Community Preservation Corporation, Related Fund Management, and Neighborhood Restore who have decades-long experience ensuring that New Yorkers have an opportunity to afford to live in the city they love. I also want to praise the diligent work of the FDIC, HCR, HPD, and advocates, including ANHD and UNHP, who sounded the alarm on Signature’s lending practices and worked tirelessly to organize tenants within these buildings. Preserving the nearly 35,000 rental units in the Signature portfolio — which could have faced grave risks as a result of the bank’s collapse — is an enormous team effort, and we are proud to be part of it.”
“We should be using every tool available to address the housing and homelessness crisis, and this investment is a strong safeguard against the unsteady practices of some financial institutions and housing stock that is falling apart,” said Public Advocate Williams. “Any serious affordable housing plan has to invest heavily in preservation, and together with my trustee designee, I’ve been proud to support this investment in both the tenants and retirees of New York City. I thank all of the partners involved in advancing this historic investment, which will help provide both financial security and housing stability for New Yorkers.”
“This NYCERS investment in affordable housing shows how we can deploy investments to continue making New York an accessible place to live while protecting the hard-earned pensions of our city workers,” said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. “The continued partnership between the mayor, the trustees of the pensions systems, the comptroller, and the private sector demonstrates how the City of New York can collaborate to implement a working people’s agenda.”
“I’m thrilled to see NYCERS’ $60 million investment in Community Stabilization Partners, a joint venture with some of the most experienced affordable housing providers in New York City,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. “This Economically Targeted Investment not only infuses a new source of capital into preserving a critical source of housing for thousands of New Yorkers, but it will also deliver for retirees over time. I commend the comptroller and other NYCERS trustees for joining our administration in demonstrating what is possible through sound local investments like this.”
Through the $60 million investment — which NYCERS voted on in March 2024 — NYCERS has become a 25 percent partner in Community Stabilization Partners. NYCERS is partnering with Related Fund Management, Community Preservation Corporation, and Neighborhood Restore due to their extensive expertise and deep roots in preserving and expanding affordable housing. Community Preservation Corporation has been a decades-long partner of NYCERS in their efforts to secure strong returns for pension members and beneficiaries while investing in expanding the city’s affordable housing supply.
This investment is part of the Economically Targeted Investment program of the five New York City Retirement Systems, managed by the New York City Comptroller Office’s Bureau of Asset Management, and is aimed at achieving strong returns for members and beneficiaries while helping to preserve some of the city’s stock of rent regulated housing. Including today’s investment, NYCERS has invested nearly $700 million in rental apartments in the city, with 19 real estate fund managers.
