Take Action: Contact Your Representative

The DAMP tax benefit that keeps your building affordable expires in 2029. Lenders are already pulling back. Without legislative action, maintenance will spike and buildings will fail.

You can help. Two actions, five minutes each.

Action 1

Ask Your City Council Member to Support Res. No. 9

Res. No. 9, sponsored by Council Member Shaun Abreu, calls on the State Legislature and the Governor to pass S.880B/A.2707B, the bill that makes the DAMP tax benefit permanent.

A Council resolution signals to Albany that the city stands behind its HDFC homeowners. Your Council Member needs to hear from you.

Find your Council Member: NYC Council District Finder

Email them: Most Council Members use District[Number]@council.nyc.gov. Find the exact address on their Council page.

Copy, paste, and personalize:

Subject: Please support Res. No. 9: HDFC Fairness, Preservation, and Affordability Act

Dear Council Member [Last Name],

My name is [Your Name] and I live at [Your Address] in District [Number]. I’m an HDFC shareholder and I’m asking you to co-sponsor and vote yes on Res. No. 9, which calls on the State Legislature to pass S.880B/A.2707B, HDFC Fairness, Preservation, and Affordability Act.

This bill makes the DAMP tax benefit permanent and keeps 1,200 HDFC co-ops financially viable. Without it, my building faces a tax increase we cannot absorb. HDFC apartments sell at 61% below market value. The model works. This bill preserves it at zero cost to the city or state.

[Add one personal sentence: how long you’ve lived there, what the building means to your family, what would happen if maintenance spiked.]

Thank you for your time.

[Your Name] [Your Phone Number]

Prefer to call? Call your Council Member’s district office via the main City Council line at (212) 788-7100, and say:

“Hi, my name is [Name], I live at [Address] in District [Number]. I’m calling to ask the Council Member to co-sponsor and vote yes on Res. No. 9, which supports the HDFC Fairness, Preservation, and Affordability Act. The DAMP tax benefit expires in 2029 and our building can’t survive without it. Thank you.”

That’s 20 seconds. It makes a difference.

Action 2

Ask Your State Legislators to Pass the Bill

The bill is S.880B in the Senate and A.2707B in the Assembly. It needs to pass both chambers and be signed by the Governor. Your State Senator and Assembly Member need to hear from you, especially if they sit on a Housing Committee.

Find your State Senator: NY Senate District Finder

Find your Assembly Member: NY Assembly District Finder

Copy, paste, and personalize:

Subject: Please support S.880B / A.2707B: HDFC Fairness, Preservation, and Affordability Act

Dear Senator / Assembly Member [Last Name],

My name is [Your Name] and I live at [Your Address]. I’m a shareholder in an HDFC cooperative and I’m writing to ask you to support S.880B/A.2707B, the HDFC Fairness, Preservation, and Affordability Act.

This bill makes the DAMP tax benefit permanent, continues existing income limits on buyers, and gives HPD real enforcement tools: annual certifications, audit authority, and the power to revoke the benefit for noncompliance. It costs nothing and preserves over 1,200 HDFC co-ops housing 100,000 New Yorkers.

The tax benefit expires in 2029. Lenders are already pulling back from HDFC financing because of the uncertainty. We need this bill passed this session.

[Add one personal sentence.]

Thank you.

[Your Name] [Your Phone Number]

Prefer to call? Call your Senator’s (Albany Switchboard: 518-455-2800) or Assembly Member’s (Albany Switchboard: 518-455-4100) or call their district office directly and say:

“Hi, my name is [Name], I live at [Address]. I’m calling to ask the Senator/Assembly Member to support S.880B/A.2707B, the HDFC Fairness, Preservation, and Affordability Act. I live in an HDFC co-op and our tax benefit expires in 2029. This bill makes it permanent at no cost to the state. Please support it. Thank you.”

Questions? Email info@SaveHDFCs.org

Every call and email counts. Legislators track constituent contacts. If 50 people from one district call about HDFCs, that office pays attention.