[8] An analysis in 2015 showed approximately 1,300 existing Housing Development Fund Corporations (HDFC) (a form of limited equity cooperative in NYC), the majority of which had been created in the 1970's and 80's and clustered in low-income areas.

[6] UHAB's association with St. John the Divine, the fact the founders were highly educated and white, and their rhetoric emphasizing the self-help nature and economic feasibility of homesteading helped attract media attention and meetings with city officials.

[12] In late 1974, residents at 1186 Washington Ave. formed the People's Development Corporation (PDC) and renovated the building for approximately 6 months before applying for a municipal loan.

They were turned down initially but after protest alongside UHAB of the HDA and Roger Starr, including a sit-in resulting in 31 arrests, they secured an approximately $300,000 loan and went on to receive widespread media attention.

The Association of Neighborhood Housing Developers (ANHD) and UHAB aided the tenants in the programs, however only 48 of the 286 formed or prospective low-income co-ops in 1973 were eventually completed.

[14] The following year they awarded UHAB a $3 million dollar grant to support a technical assistance program for lower-income New Yorkers and test the efficacy and potential of sweat equity homesteading.

[19] An analysis in 2015 showed that the majority of the approximately 1,300 existing Housing Development Fund Corporations (HDFC) (a form of limited equity cooperative in NYC) had been created in the 1970's and 80's and clustered in low-income areas.

[9] In 2002, after three years of negotiation with the city administration and HPD, UHAB purchased eleven squatted buildings in the Lower East Side for $1 each, including ABC No Rio, Bullet Space, C-Squat, and Umbrella House.

[4][20][21] As predatory equity began to develop in New York City in 2005, a group of community organizations including UHAB collaborated to track investments and found thousands of apartments were possibly overleveraged, having far more debt than rental income.

The organizations launched a multi-pronged campaign against New York Community Bank, which at the time had approximately 800 rental units across 34 buildings in foreclosure with a combined total of over 5000 violations.