NYC Alternative Enforcement Program Buildings, 2007–2026

Since November 2007, HPD has made 4,387 selections for its Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP), covering 3,666 different buildings. As of the 2026-10-01 data update, 862 buildings with 17,809 apartments were still in the program and 3,525 selections had ended in discharge. Brooklyn has had the most selections, and the latest round, Round 19, began on February 2, 2026, with 250 buildings.

What AEP is

AEP is HPD's program for what it calls severely distressed multiple dwellings. According to HPD, it picks buildings each year, on or about January 31, by counting open Class B (hazardous) and Class C (immediately hazardous) housing code violations along with the dollar value of emergency repairs HPD has already paid for. Only multiple dwellings can be selected; HPD's dataset notes every selected building had at least three apartments when picked.

Once a building is in, the owner has four months to make repairs. After that, HPD issues an Order to Correct listing the underlying conditions, can hire contractors to make repairs or replace building systems at the owner's expense, and charges fees: $500 per apartment every six months (capped at $1,000 per unit), $200 for each complaint inspection that finds a B or C violation, and $100 for each reinspection after a certification of correction that finds the violation still there. Unpaid charges and fees can become tax liens. Within 15 days of notice the owner must also post a sign in English and Spanish saying the building is in AEP, or face a $250 civil penalty. See the AEP guide for the owner's side and what violation classes mean.

To be discharged, HPD says an owner must correct all heat and hot water violations and all Class C mold violations, correct at least 80% of Class B mold violations, 80% of vermin violations and 80% of all other B and C violations, pay or set up payment for HPD's charges, and file a current property registration. A building can also leave the program if it has been vacant for at least a year (with an exception for vacate-order buildings of six or more units) or is transferred by the city to a new owner because of unpaid property taxes.

Round by round: how many got out

HPD picked 200 buildings in each of the first six rounds, 187 in Round 7 and 250 in every round since 2015. Almost all early selections have been discharged. Round 1 has 1 building still active; Rounds 1 through 15 together have 362.

The recent rounds are moving more slowly. Of the 250 buildings picked in Round 12 (2019), 167 were discharged within a year of selection. In Round 16 (2023) it was 105, in Round 17 (2024) 95, and in Round 18 (2025) 115. Round 17 still has 132 active buildings more than two and a half years after selection. Round 19 has had about eight months, and 111 of its 250 buildings are already out.

For buildings that were discharged, the median time from selection to discharge was 180 days across all rounds. That number varies a lot: the first three rounds took well over two years at the median, while most rounds since 2016 have medians of four to five months (Round 13, picked in January 2020, is the exception at 269 days). The median only describes buildings that left, so rounds with many still-active buildings look faster than they are.

Violation counts at selection have risen

The number of open B and C violations a building carries on selection day has gone up. Counting only buildings picked for the first and only time (see the next paragraph), the median Round 9 building (2016) had 384 open hazardous violations when picked. The median Round 17 building (2024) had 576, and Round 18 had 588.5. Round 19 came in at 530, with a range from 62 to 3,541. These are counts per building, not per apartment, and bigger buildings tend to have more.

Why only first-time buildings? For each of the 598 buildings picked in more than one round, the dataset repeats the same violation count on every selection, so it can't show which round that count belongs to. Leaving out those 1,319 rows keeps the trend from double-counting the same snapshot.

Where AEP buildings are

Brooklyn has had 2,141 selections, 49% of the total, and has 393 active buildings now. The Bronx has had fewer selections (1,290) but its buildings are larger: active Bronx AEP buildings hold 6,840 apartments, more than any other borough. Staten Island has had only 29 selections in 19 rounds.

Among neighborhoods (NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Areas), Crown Heights (North) has the most active AEP buildings (34), followed by Bedford-Stuyvesant (West) and (East). Of the 10 neighborhoods with 20 or more active AEP buildings, 8 are in Brooklyn. The Bronx and Manhattan neighborhoods on that list have more apartments per building.

Repeat selections

Discharge isn't always permanent. 598 buildings have been selected in more than one round: 492 twice and 106 three or more times. That is why the dataset has 4,387 rows but only 3,666 different buildings.

Limits of this data

• Status is current, not historical. "Active" and "discharged" reflect the 2026-10-01 update. A discharged building can still have open violations; discharge requires correcting 80% of most B and C violations, not all of them.
• Unit counts are today's. HPD notes that total units reflect its records when the data was run and can differ from the count at selection.
• Violation counts depend on inspections. Buildings whose tenants file more complaints get inspected more, so they can show more violations. The program targets the worst records, not necessarily the worst conditions.
• Time to discharge is only for buildings that left. Recent rounds have had less time, so their medians will rise as slower buildings are discharged.
• Neighborhoods are NTAs. NYC Planning's Neighborhood Tabulation Areas don't always match the names people use.