(DNAINFO)  Jeff Mays — The almost 8,500 affordable apartments finalized or under construction during the 2015 fiscal year were the most new units created in 25 years, city officials said Monday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement on Summit Avenue in The Bronx where a $17 million, 58-unit affordable housing project was being built.

“If you address the challenge of housing, a family can get by — they can make ends meet,” de Blasio said. “If they can’t address their housing expenses, so many other things are not possible.”

De Blasio’s plan calls for the creation or preservation of 200,000 units of affordable housing over a decade. During the 2015 fiscal year, which runs from June to June, construction was launched on 8,483 units while another 11,842 units were preserved.

The 20,325 total new and preserved units mark the largest number since 1989 when more than 25,000 units were created or preserved and the second highest total since the city Department of Housing and Preservation Development was launched in 1978, the mayor said.

Source: De Blasio Celebrates Most New Affordable Housing Units in 25 Years – Concourse – DNAinfo.com New York