Crown Heights Apartments Ribbon Cutting
The Crown Heights Apartments, an eight-story development with 143 affordable rentals for low-income seniors, made its debut with a ribbon cutting ceremony last week. (That’s John Rhea, Chairman of the New York City Housing Authority, above.) The development, part of Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan, is a state-of-the-art, $40 million building created to provide quality…
The Crown Heights Apartments, an eight-story development with 143 affordable rentals for low-income seniors, made its debut with a ribbon cutting ceremony last week. (That’s John Rhea, Chairman of the New York City Housing Authority, above.) The development, part of Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan, is a state-of-the-art, $40 million building created to provide quality housing the older residents who may otherwise have to leave the neighborhood. Financing for affordable one-bedroom rentals are for tenants earning a maximum income of up to $29,760. Residents in affordable units will pay no more the 30 percent of their income for rent. The project was built by the Local Development Corp. of Crown Heights and SKA Marin and financed in part by a variety of NYC agencies. GMAP
Photo by GACNYC.com
ENY;
You’re correct. Add air-conditioning to the list of “rights” to which folks on subsidies are entitled.
“Finally, I chuckle at the notion that this is “low income” housing, when it has built-in AC: an amenity that is still considered a luxury in advanced economies like Japan and parts of Europe.”
It’s low income housing because the residents are at the low end of the economic scale in this country. Is the privilege of air conditioning reserved for specific economic classes, Benson?
In a fair world, everyone would be able to pay for whatever they have by themselves. But this isn’t a fair world. So if some of my taxes go to house lower income elderly in decent, humane and dare I say it, attractive, housing, then I feel that’s money well spent.
Montrose;
Let me connect the dots for you.
The problem:
the city of New York owns most of the housing projects. Most of these buildings are 50 years olds, and in need of serious capital upgrades. NYCHA is depleting its capital accounts to make up for operating deficits. The result? Deteriorating projects.
The “brilliant” solution:
-don’t use the city coffers to meet these operating NYCHA deficits. No, use them to create more rent subsidies for privately built housing that will revert to the free market in 20 or so years (after the tax benefits expire). By doing so, you can attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony to demonstrate your “compassion”.
As to the issue of my “compassion” for seniors. I pay a fair amount of tax each month for Social Security, Medicare and SSI (special Social Security for low-income people). I am happy to do so. I am not pleased to support housing lotteries that are mainly showboats for idiot councilmen.
Finally, I chuckle at the notion that this is “low income” housing, when it has built-in AC: an amenity that is still considered a luxury in advanced economies like Japan and parts of Europe.
“I hope neither of you are ever in the position to need assistance when you get old. Bet your attitude would change then.”
Is this supposed to be a revelation? Everyone would like something cheap or free. In particular if someone else is paying for it.
Ok……….so it’s better to have senior citizens holed up in old and crumbling NYCHA projects, some of which are so bad, these people are never able to come out of their apartments from either fear, or broken elevators, than to have new apartments for them, built on empty land that has been gathering weeds for a generation? This from Mr.Density and his comrade in arms?
Who said this was a NYCHA project anyway? It’s a project of Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan, an initiative in place since 2002. Did anyone look up who or what that is? Well, I did, and it has nothing to do with NYCHA. This is but one project in a city wide series of affordable housing initiatives the city has built. The presense of John Rhea doesn’t make it NYCHA, he’s HPD, he was but one of many city officials and politicians there. Who said that all of the new tenants were former or present NYCHA residents? Why all the hate on a project for senior citizens? I hope neither of you are ever in the position to need assistance when you get old. Bet your attitude would change then.
“This particular development is showmanship for the idiot city council members to pretend they are actually making the lives of the citizens better when they are really just making them worse. ”
Yeah. It’s terrible when low-income folks are provided with affordable rental alternatives. What is the world coming to?
Polemicist, please go take your meds.
I know you can’t possibly explain HOW making homes for seniors makes things worse.
“This particular development is showmanship for the idiot city council members to pretend they are actually making the lives of the citizens better when they are really just making them worse. ”
Polemecist;
Well said. However, there is a bright side to this silliness: they are only hastening the day when the NYCHA will go belly up. Anyone who follows the NYCHA knows that it is on the road to ruination. Specifically, they are dipping into their capital account to pay for day-to-day operating expenses. On a practical level, one can see this by walking past almost any housing project. A few days ago I was walking by the Walt Whitman houses, and couldn’t believe the state of poor repair, even down to the condition of the sidewalks.
In such a situation, most prudent stewards would be seeking ways to trim down the NYCHA’s load. Not the showboats in the City Council, who delight in proving their high level of compassion – with other people’s money.