New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that $16.5 million is now available to decarbonize and improve existing affordable housing in New York City through the Resilient and Equitable Decarbonization Initiative for Existing Buildings (REDi: EB) Program. The funding is an expansion of a collaborative partnership between New York State and New York City to provide affordable housing building owners and developers easier access to funding for electrification and energy efficiency retrofit upgrades to New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)-regulated buildings.
“In partnership with New York City, we’re advancing funding to reduce building emissions and tackle the climate crisis,” Hochul said. “We are ensuring developers and building owners have access to the resources they need to retrofit affordable housing so we can decarbonize buildings in underserved communities.”
With the announcement, $15 million is now available through REDi: EB, which is administered by HPD in partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), on a first-come, first-served basis to cover the incremental costs to strategically electrify space heating and domestic hot water production and improve the building envelope via enhanced insulation, windows and ventilation systems. HPD, NYSERDA and technical consultants will work with project teams to determine a scope that works best for each project. The maximum award is $1 million per building or up to $2 million for multi-building projects. Incentive funds will be paid to the project by HPD during the construction phase.
Also, $1.5 million is now available to fund technical assistance throughout the design, construction and post-construction phases for projects participating in REDi: EB. Applications will be accepted until December 31, 2025, or until funds have been exhausted.
This initiative is part of HPD’s overarching Resilient & Equitable Decarbonization Initiative (REDi), a long-term housing decarbonization program that consolidates multiple current and future funding and technical support programs under one umbrella through 2030. Today’s announcement also builds on the $24 million HPD-NYSERDA Retrofit Electrification Pilot launched in 2021, which has funded electrification retrofits in 17 buildings serving over 600 households, with several hundred additional households in the pilot’s pipeline.
Additionally, 50% of these projects are located in disadvantaged communities. Both the Pilot and REDi: EB programs support the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2050, and ensure at least 35%, with a goal of 40%, of the benefits from investments be directed to disadvantaged communities.
