Views of responsible officials
The late 2022 submission was ultimately the result of Management’s decision to await clarification from the mortgage lender Webster Bank. Housing and Services, Inc. and certain related entities acting as guarantors of Bedford 203 LP’s construction loan were released from their guarantor obligations upon Bedford 203 LP’s conversion to permanent financing. The request for clarification was made in mid-September 2023 and Webster Bank’s response was obtained in early October 2023, resulting in the late submission. Management acknowledges that completion of the 2023 financial statements, originally anticipated to be completed in June 2023, were delayed by Management’s efforts to enhance its understanding in the accounting for new construction during the summer of 2023. The submission was completed and resolved on November 9, 2023.
Omissions in the Schedule maintained during 2023 primarily pertain to construction lending by the City of New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development that utilized federal funding and project-based Section 8 rental assistance. Management inadvertently only presented the construction lending in the years of expenditure. Such expenditures were duly reported upon and audited during the years of expenditures and were maintained within the financial records of Housing and Servies, Inc. and the applicable related entities but were subsequently omitted from the Schedule in the years following. Management concurs with Finding No. 2023-001 and, as of August 2024, management has enhanced its internal controls and augmented its personnel to ensure that such reporting under Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards is compliant, complete, and accurate for the 2023 Schedule and going forward.