ALBANY - New York State approved $66.8 million in financing to preserve and create 1,059 affordable housing units throughout the state. The approvals were made by the New York State Housing Finance Agency and its subsidiary, the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation.

HFA will finance $45.1 million in first mortgages for multifamily housing developers through the sale of private activity tax-exempt bonds. The projects include construction of new affordable housing developments in Manhattan and Syracuse and major capital improvements at Section 8 multifamily rental developments in Nassau and Sullivan counties.

Additional financing of $11.94 million in second mortgages and more than $7 million in AHC grants will come from the historic $304.2 million funding for New York State's housing programs approved in April by the Governor and the State Legislature as part of the Enacted Budget.

The projects follow:

New York City

HFA approved:

-- $27.65 million in financing to construct an 11-story, 114-unit multifamily rental apartment building at 625 W. 140th St. in the Hamilton Heights section of Manhattan;

-- A $1.4 million subsidy loan to Liberty Avenue Housing to assist in financing the construction of a three-story, 47-unit apartment building located at 898-908 Liberty Avenue, Brooklyn, that will include space for social services.

AHC approved a $640,000 grant to the Housing Partnership Development Corporation to finance the construction of 16 affordable condominium units in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.

Long Island

HFA approved $12.6 million in financing for the acquisition and renovation of Adams Court, a 84-unit Section 8 rental apartment located at two sites in the Village of Hempstead, Nassau County.

AHC approved three grants for Long Island:

-- A $1 million grant to the Community Development Corporation of Long Island (CDCLI) to improve 167 homes in Nassau and Suffolk counties;

--A separate $500,000 grant to CDCLI to acquire and rehab 14 homes on Long Island;

--A $450,000 grant to the Long Island Partnership Development Fund Corp. Inc. to improve 15 homes in the Town of Babylon.

Sullivan County

HFA approved $10 million in financing for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 111 affordable units in Woodland Townhouses and Barkley Gardens, which are Section 8 multifamily rental developments in the Village of Liberty.

Onondaga County

HFA approved:

-- $5.4 million in financing for the acquisition of 11 parcels and construction of nine multifamily apartment buildings with 28 units on Syracuse's east side;

--A $2.695 million loan to facilitate the purchase of a manufactured home park in the Town of Elbridge.

AHC approved two grants:

--A $700,000 grant to the Empire Housing and Development Corporation to acquire and renovate 25 single-family and five two-family homes in Onondaga County;

--A $250,000 grant to the Southern Hills Preservation Corporation to acquire and renovate 10 single-family homes in southern Onondaga County.

Warren County

AHC approved a $280,000 grant to the City of Glens Falls to finance improvements for 24 affordable housing units in the city.

Jefferson County

AHC approved a $192,000 grant to Neighbors of Watertown, Inc. to finance improvements for 24 single-family homes in the City of Watertown.

Cortland County

AHC approved a $375,000 grant to the Cortland Housing Assistance Council, Inc. to acquire and renovate 15 affordable homes in Cortland County.

Western New York

AHC approved a $1.6 million grant to the Rural Housing Opportunities Corporation to finance improvements for 120 single-family homes located in Genesee, Wayne and Monroe Counties.

Monroe County

AHC approved a $950,000 grant to the Greater Rochester Partnership Housing Development Fund Corporation to acquire and renovate 50 affordable homes in the City of Rochester.

Erie County

AHC approved a $77,500 grant to Southtowns Rural Preservation Company, Inc. to finance improvements for 13 single-family homes in southern Erie County.

The NYS Housing Finance Agency was created in 1960 to sell bonds to finance the construction and rehabilitation of multifamily affordable rental housing in New York State.

AHC was established in 1985 to promote homeownership by low- and moderate-income households. Financial assistance approved annually by the New York State Legislature, combined with other private and public investment, is used for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation and improvement of owner-occupied housing.