Last week Norman Oder had an extensive post on Atlantic Yards Report about where funding for AY’s affordable housing is going to come from. The issue is of serious concern as funding dries up for affordable projects around the city; Oder makes the point that AY’s 2,250 units of subsidized housing will require $1.4 billion in housing bonds, and there’s no evidence that Forest City Ratner has applied for any of those bonds (that’s important since there’s only about $1.6 billion bond financing to go around each year for all of New York State, and other developers also have to wait in line for the funds). The Post, meanwhile, had a hard hitting 52-word article that quotes HDC prez Marc Jahr as saying the city is not concerned about AY affordable funds being available because of the development’s scale. But isn’t there a lot to be concerned about? For example, does the project’s scale mean the city is giving a free pass for construction on the affordable housing parts of Atlantic Yards to take much longer than other aspects of the development? And what if there’s even less funding available for affordable housing in the future? Finally, is it fair for Forest City Ratner’s mega-development to eat into the creation of affordable units in other parts of the city and state?
AY Affordable Housing Jeopardized By funding “Crisis” [AY Report]
Atlantic Yard$tick for Poor Housing [NY Post]
Is the Creation of Affordable Housing in Jeopardy? [Brownstoner]
Photo by True Scot