Major financial institutions such as Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc. have entered into an agreement to settle in mortgage-bond practices that precipitated the 2008 global recession. In a report from Bloomberg.com, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman would be announcing a deal worth $75 million that the said banks would fund to rehabilitate housing units in the city of New York.
The funds would be used to rehabilitate 2,200 rentals units located within New York City and 1,500 located throughout the state. The funds would be used in low interest loans, considered as part of a 'consumer relief' package' that major banks had promised to give as part of the multi-billion dollar settlements entered into last year.
In a statement, New York Attorney General Schneiderman said, "New Yorkers were hurt in many ways by the housing crisis. My office has been creative in finding new ways to help New Yorkers recover."
According to a report from lohud.com, the other recipients of the windfall include Mount Vernon and Chappaqua which would total to nearly $5 million. The loans in all the areas would have interest rates no higher than 1.5 per cent. The Mount Vernon project would be 80 units for $3.9 million, 28 units in New Castle for $1 million and 41 units in New Rochelle for $820,000 among others.
The major part of the units would be made affordable to residents with annual earnings between 30 and 90 percent of the area's median income, which is translated to be between $20,000 and $100,000 a year.
Also included in the area coverage are Westchester County and the Rochester area, according to a report from democratandchronicle.com. The major projects would be done in Monroe County, with a $5 million loan for 286 units and $1.7 million for 103 units. Other projects in the pipeline are in Batavia, Genesee County, with 56 units worth $2.2 million.