The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) announce new efforts, For those who are not fluent in English, find no barriers in participating in the 2026 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS), with the addition of more translators through the Community Interpreters Bank (CIB).
The NYCHVS survey is one of the most important tools New York City has to understand how its residents live.
This is a survey focused on the housing inventory and the population living in the five boroughs. carried out approximately every three years.
For more informationvisit www.nyc.gov/nychvs
In collaboration with the University of Michigan Survey Research Center, the 2026 NYCHVS offers an interview experience in seven languages, and its team of specialized interviewers speaks 38 languages.
“New York City is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the world. It is home to more first-generation immigrants than the entire population of Chicago. It is essential that all New Yorkers are represented and heard through official statistics and data, regardless of their place of birth, factual status or the language they speak.”, said Dr. Elyzabeth Gaumer, Director of Research at HPD and NYCHVS Critical Investigator.
Data source
For more than 60 yearsthis research has served as a predominant data source for city and state agencies, researchers, policymakers, and community organizations.
In this partnership the Interpreter Bank will provide essential support by offering translation services for all additional languages not currently covered.
The interpreters will work closely with the interview team to ensure that the selected households understand the importance of the survey, what their participation implies and that all information will be kept strictly confidential.
In this process, they select 15,000 residential addresses throughout the Big Apple. These addresses are chosen to represent diverse neighborhoods, all types of housing and each New Yorker.
Each selected participant contributes an essential part of our city’s well-liked history: both the current conditions of the place and the way New York has evolved over time.
Data is collected through in-person interviews which last approximately 45 minutes and help city agencies monitor housing conditions, understand the needs of different communities and inform decisions that affect residents of all five boroughs.
Only selected addresses can complete the survey, which makes it even more important for NYCHVS to reach out to everyone who has been invited to participate.
The New York City Community Interpreter Bank is a city-funded initiative, led by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), that recruits, trains, and assigns interpreters to serve New Yorkers with limited English proficiency throughout the city.
In association with Language Justice Collaborative, Hostos Community College and Immigrant Arc (I-ARC), The CIB expands language access citywide and creates economic opportunities for bilingual New Yorkers.
Learn more at https://www.nyic.org/our-work/nyc-group-interpreter-bank/