Affordable Housing
May 14, 2008
NYCHA Funding Shortfall Could Mean Dark Days for Projects
City Hall News reports that the New York City Housing Authority is looking at a $200 million budget shortfall this year, which some officials say is likely to result in worsening conditions at public housing. “You see the conditions they're living in and the problems they're going through,” says Council Member Rosie Mendez (D-Manhattan), who chairs the Council's Public Housing Committee, “and you're sort of helpless in trying to rectify the situation.” Last year NYCHA had a $168 million budget deficit. As federal funding for the projects has dried up, so too have city and state dollars. In recent years NYCHA has laid off thousands of employees and cut hundreds of millions of dollars from its operating budget. Some public housing advocates say that the city uses the projects as a "cash cow," collecting millions every year for things like police services. Although there have been rumors that some of the city's public housing stock would be sold off to private developers, Nicholas Dagen Bloom, an assistant professor at the New York Institute of Technology and author of "Public Housing That Worked: New York in the Twentieth Century," says that's probably not going to happen. “It's not likely the program will be privatized,” he says, “but there will be structural changes in the way it operates to reflect current conditions, which is higher costs.” The are currently more than 400,000 residents of public housing in the city, and rent averages $320 a month for tenants who earn, on average, $20,000 a year.
The City's Own Looming Housing Crisis [City Hall]
HUD Official Speaks the Unspeakable: Selling The Projects [Brownstoner]
Politicians Can't Back Sell-The-Projects Idea [Brownstoner]
Photo by bondidwhat.
May 13, 2008
Starrett City Measure Wending Through Congress
A bill that would preserve affordability at Starrett City, the largest federally subsidized rental complex in the United States, was overwhelmingly approved in the House last week. The bill was introduced by Rep. Edolphus Towns and co-sponsored by Rep. Nydia Velázquez. East New York's Starrett City has 5,800 units and 14,000 residents, and the government wouldn't allow its current owners to sell the property to a group of investors who bid $1.3 billion for it last year because it was believed that the high sales price meant the housing stock wouldn't be kept affordable. The bill converts Section 8 and Rental Assistance Program (RAP) contracts at Starrett to a project-based Section 8 contract, which ensures longer-term affordability for those particular units. (We're not clear on whether this applies to all the massive complex's units or just some of them.) According to an article in the Eagle, the measure "creates the conditions necessary for purchasers of Starrett City to secure the long-term financing necessary to purchase the property, therefore allowing them to keep the units affordable." As of late last week, the bill was set to become an amendment in one of the foreclosure-relief bills currently being considered by the House. It wasn't, however, amended to the controversial anti-foreclosure bill that passed last week and that President Bush has vowed to veto.
Rep. Towns' Press Release on Starrett Bill [house.gov]
Starrett Bill [govtrack.us]
Reps. Towns, Velázquez Report Success for Starrett City [Brooklyn Eagle]
Photo by ntang.
May 6, 2008
420 Classon Avenue: Waiting for the Lottery Results
The castle-like trio of buildings that was saved from imminent peril and combined in a heroic conversion by the Pratt Area Community Council is almost ready for occupancy. As the photo shows, the building is good to go. PACC received over 700 applications for the 12 affordable condominiums in the building. The lottery has been held and the non-profit is currently checking applicants' credit records and confirming their eligibility. No word on exactly when the winning envelopes will go in the mail.
Lottery for 420 Classon Avenue Kicks Off [Brownstoner] GMAP
Development Watch: Windows for 420 Classon Avenue [Brownstoner]
Present from PACC: 420 Classon Rendering [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: PACC on Classon [Brownstoner]
The Future of 418-422 Classon? [Brownstoner]
April 29, 2008
Development Watch: Atlantic Terrace
While the future of affordable housing at Atlantic Yards is unclear, there's been some progress on Atlantic Terrace, the mixed-income development a stone's throw from the AY footprint. There was a ceremonial groundbreaking for the project back (rendered at right) in October, and workers have dug the big hole that'll eventually get filled with 80 co-ops, 50 percent of which will be affordable to low-income families and 20 percent of which will be affordable moderate-income earners. Last year there were stories in the Observer and Post about how plans for solar panels on the building's roof had to be scrapped because the looming shadows of AY high-rises would interfere with harnessing sunshine. Perhaps dark days for AY help that design facet see the light of day.
AY-Area Affordable Housing: Made in the Shade [Brownstoner]
Mixed-Rate Building Next to Atlantic Yards [Brownstoner] GMAP
April 28, 2008
Council Gunning for Oversight of Rent Regulation
A bill seeking to give the City Council more control over rent regulation is expected to be introduced to the state legislature within the next couple of weeks, according to an article in this morning's Sun. The bill would mean that the City Council gets to vote on who sits on the Rent Guidelines Board, a nine-person body currently appointed by the mayor. In addition, the bill would significantly revamp how the board determines rent hikes because landlords' net incomes would be considered. Perhaps most significantly, the bill would mean that tenants won't have to renew their leases as long as they pay rent. Councilmember Letitia James (right) says she plans to introduce a resolution asking the legislature to pass the bill, which has the support of tenants' rights groups. Frank Ricci, president of the landlord-interest group the Rent Stabilization Association, says his organization opposes the bill. "This legislation ignores the reality of rising taxes, rising fuel prices, and rising water rates, to make this a more political process than it already is," he says.
Bill Would Give Council More Control of Rent Regulation [NY Sun]
Photo of Councilmember James by threecee.
April 18, 2008
Gowanus Green: Bells, Whistles, and Rain Gardens
The preliminary site plan for Gowanus Green, the development that a consortium led by Hudson Companies will build next to the canal, is shown above, and it includes plenty of interesting amenities. The developers intend to have retail space in the ground floor of the buildings fronting Smith Street, a bar and restaurant near 5th Street and the canal, a bike shop on the ground floor of one of the Smith Street buildings, a daycare, a wellness center, an amphitheater, a playground, and a rain garden. The rain garden "incorporates some of the storm water features we're using and is supposed to be an interpretative educational feature that draws people in from the playground," according to Michael Wadman, a principal for Hudson Affordable Housing. The wellness center, meanwhile, will probably have things like doctors' offices and acupuncturists, says Wadman, that will be partially geared toward the senior population that will live in some of the affordable units set aside for them in the development. Here's a full breakdown of the number of units and height of the buildings currently being planned:
Building A: Low-income rental with 94 units; 6-story base with a setback to 8 stories.
Building B: Mixed-income condo with 47 units; 6-story base with a setback to 8 stories.
Building C: Low-income rental with 136 units; 6-story base with two setbacks to 10 stories.
Building D: Mixed-income rental with 149 units; 8-story base with two setbacks to 12 stories.
Building E: Mixed-income co-op with 150 units; 6-story base with three setbacks to 12 stories.
Building F: Mixed income co-op with 61 units; 8-story base with setbacks to 12 stories.
Building G: Mixed-income condo with 90 units; 6-story base with three setbacks to 12 stories.
Building H: Mixed-income condo with 45 units; 6-story base with a setback to 8 stories.
Building I: 3-story community facility with space for the Gowanus Dredgers.
Density is concentrated near the canal, which meshes with City Planning's draft framework for rezoning the area, says Wadman. Timing-wise, what needs to happen first is the remediation of the property, which is being spearheaded by National Grid. The city is hoping that clean-up begins this year and is completed sometime in 2010, "which would allow us to get all our approvals in order and go through ULURP," says Wadman. The total budget for the project is $285 million, and the 70 percent of it that has affordable components will receive subsidies. Wadman says that right now the plan is to build in two phases, with the buildings fronting Smith and 5th streets, which will primarily be the low-income housing, completed first.
Hudson Companies Chosen to Develop Public Place Site [Brownstoner]
Renderings of the Related and Hudson Public Place Plans [Brownstoner] GMAP
Vying Public Place Plans Get an Airing [Brownstoner]
Gowanus Roundup: Public Pl. Bids Whittled, Builders Bullish [Brownstoner]
April 3, 2008
Public Hearing Scheduled for 80 Dekalb Financing
Today the Eagle reports that funding for the affordable housing units in one of Forest City Ratner's Brooklyn projects is looking more promising than it is for Atlantic Yards. The 34-story rental tower, as rendered above, will probably receive tax-exempt and/or taxable multifamily housing revenue bonds for 80 Dekalb's construction “not to exceed $109,500,000” from the Housing Finance Agency, which is having a public hearing about the matter on April 15th. The entire project is supposed to cost around $204 million, and at least 35 20 percent of its 365 apartments are going to be set aside as affordable rentals. As the photo on the jump shows, after a slow period last fall, work on the foundation is in full swing.
Forest City Ratner Seeks Bonds for Affordable Units [Brooklyn Eagle]
Development Watch: 80 Dekalb Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP
Continue reading "Public Hearing Scheduled for 80 Dekalb Financing"
March 31, 2008
Vito's Plans for Pfizer: A Gross Misuse of Eminent Domain?
This morning the Sun takes a look at the drive to seize the old Pfizer plant in Williamsburg via eminent domain. Assemblyman Vito Lopez introduced a bill that would result in the state condemning the 15-acre property so it could acquire it and issue its own request for proposals to create around 1,700 affordable housing units. Pfizer intends to shut down the plant at the end of this year, and it released its own request for proposals for a mixed-use development on the site that would also include affordable housing. Lopez's chief of staff says Pfizer's RFP isn't good enough since it doesn't specify how much affordable housing would come out the site's redevelopment, but Pfizer begs to differ. "Not only is the concept of state-sponsored eminent domain extremely premature at this point and could have implications for development statewide but the legislation's justification fails to mention affordable housing is one of the key uses already being considered," said a spokesperson for the pharma giant in a statement. Critics of Lopez's plan think his bill would result in a completely unwarranted use of eminent domain. "The fact that this grossly mistreats business doesn't make it any better," says Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. "If Lopez wants the affordable housing on that site then he should work with Pfizer to get it included in the development and require that they build it on their property."
Eminent Domain Foes Fear Bid By Assemblyman [NY Sun]
Pfizer v. Vito for Rights to Old Pfizer Plant [Brownstoner]
Photo by hi-lo.
March 26, 2008
Inclusionary Zoning: What's Lost and What's Gained?
The Furman Center released a big report yesterday about how inclusionary zoning affects prices and development. In other words, the report looked into whether incentivizing the creation of affordable housing puts an undue strain on developers, forcing them to raise prices for market-rate units or scrap would-be projects. The study focused on how inclusionary zoning has worked in San Francisco, D.C., and suburban Boston areas, and it more or less concluded that it does not sink development or cause unnatural price hikes. "Our analysis refutes the 'sky-is-falling' cries from IZ opponents; we find no evidence that IZ programs have reduced housing production in the San Francisco area, and find evidence of only slight effects on production in the Boston area," said Vicki Been, Director of the Furman Center, in a statement. "However, we found that IZ policies have produced only a modest number of affordable housing units, suggesting that IZ by itself is not a panacea for a community's affordable housing challenges." Indeed, the current practice of simply requiring a small percentage of affordable housing in an otherwise market-rate development—which is one of the main ways New York City is addressing its affordability crisis—is something, but it's hardly everything.
Report on the Impact of Inclusionary Zoning Programs [Furman Center]
Photo by Housing Here and Now.
March 24, 2008
Winning the Housing Lottery
The lucky winner of one of the city's middle-income housing subsidy lotteries gets a write-up in Daily News today. The details are pretty envy-inducing: A guy who makes $85,000 a year as a technician at a high-definition video editing company entered a raffle sponsored by the Pratt Area Community Council (after reading about it on this website!) and won the right to purchase a Clinton Hill rowhouse for $455,000. The monthly mortgage payments total $3,048. He's now living there with his brother, who's renting out the lower floors. However one feels about the "fairness" of these lottery systems, it's hard not to be impressed by what PACC's doing with these projects (like the earlier PACC restoration of 282 St. James Place pictured above); in addition to the obvious boon winning is to the lucky buyer, the restoration of these run-down houses has a very positive impact on the neighborhood. Are any readers among the other eight lottery winners for this batch of houses?
Brothers Find Sharing House is a Home Run [NY Daily News]
Steal This House! PACC Home Raffle Open Now [Brownstoner]
Lottery Lunacy? Allocating Middle-Income Subsidies [Brownstoner]
Photos from PACC.