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Your Gift for the Summer Is Here: ANHD’s AMI Cheat Sheet
By: Lucy Block Melanie Breault
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We’ve Updated Our Handy AMI Tool with 2018 Numbers
Need something to read on your beach towel this summer? Now you can be the hero any affordable housing policy discussion with ANHD’s handy, wallet-sized AMI Cheat Sheet! Every year, the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) puts together what has become a vital tool for conversations on the development and preservation of affordable housing in New York City. As ANHD’s Research and Policy Associate, Lucy Block, noted last week in her blog on the continued mismatch between the kind of housing being created in New York City and the kind of housing New York City’s existing households need, our focus should be on serving the AMI levels where affordable housing is most necessary.
ANHD’s AMI Cheat Sheet is a portable guide that makes Area Media Income (AMI) easy to understand in a clear, visual format. The AMI Cheat Sheet includes:
- Income for a 3-person household corresponding to each 10% AMI level
- Maximum net affordable monthly rent for a household at that income
- Percent of NYC households at each AMI level
- Percent of NYC households in each income category
ANHD started developing the AMI Cheat Sheet in order to help local residents understand what those AMI levels actually mean for their own communities. The Cheat Sheet also assists community organizers in their efforts to help families qualify for affordable housing and think through policies and programs that address community needs.
Here are some real world applications for the AMI Cheat Sheet:
- For neighborhood or spot rezonings where the City is applying Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH), use the AMI Cheat Sheet to understand how the different options relate to your community’s needs.
- The Cheat Sheet translates AMI into real income and rent numbers, helping to understand affordable housing policies in Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York
- AMI levels are used for affordable housing through New York City’s lottery system – use the Cheat Sheet to see what apartments you’re eligible for.
- The Cheat Sheet helps us understand income distribution in New York City. While the 100% AMI level for a 3-person household increased by $8,000 since last year, the share of people making 10% AMI or below increased from 7.2% to 8.5% of the population. The income standard we use to establish levels of housing affordability is increasing, but the incomes of New Yorkers experiencing poverty aren’t increasing to keep pace.
For our local ANHD partners, hard copies of your AMI Cheat Sheets will be in your mailboxes soon, so keep an eye out!