The $1.3 billion bid to buy Starrett City may have collapsed, but the property’s future as a middle-income housing complex is still uncertain. Starrett City’s owners filed notice with state housing authorities detailing their intention to leave the Mitchell-Lama program and sent a letter to tenants saying they were exploring various options for the property but had not conclusively decided on a course of action. Exiting Mitchell-Lama would allow Starrett City’s owners, a group of investors led by Disque Deane, to charge market-rate rents at the 5,881-unit East New York complex. Senator Schumer called the possible plan an act of bad faith and said he would work with state leaders to pass legislation to preserve tenant protection to stop this. State housing officials, meanwhile, said they would continue to negotiate with Starrett City’s owners about the preserving the complex’s affordable housing. As with the eight-month, drag-out fight over the $1.3 billion bid for the property, the latest battle for Starrett City is likely to rage for quite some time.
Starrett City’s Owners Make a Move Toward Market Rates [NY Times]
Starrett in Bid to Nix Low Rents [NY Post]
Starrett City Owners Move To Opt Out of Mitchell-Lama [NY Sun]
Subsidized Apartments on the Auction Block [Brownstoner]
Photo of Starrett City by gkjarvis