Comptroller Report Errs When Counting Affordable Housing

"New York City’s top fiscal officer issued a mea culpa on Wednesday for a major calculation mistake in a report on the rapid decrease of affordable housing," reports Katie Honan.

Earlier this week, Honan was reporting the findings of a report that claimed the city had lost 1 million apartments that rent for $900 or less since 2005 [paywall]. The report was the work of New York City Comptroller Scott Springer's office. The report also said the number of apartments renting for more than $2,700 a month had increased by 238,000.

A day later, the comptroller was issuing a correction. The actual number of $900 apartments missing from the market is less than half of the original report's finding, or 425,492 houses. "Although the comptroller’s office originally said that the number of apartments renting for $2,700 a month increased by 238,000 between 2005 and 2017, the actual increase was just 111,000 units, the updated report said," adds Honan.