HUD Official Speaks the Unspeakable: Selling The Projects
As we’ve mentioned before, rumors about the privatization of certain public housing projects in parts of rapidly gentrifying areas of Brooklyn have been circulating for a couple of years. Most recently, we wrote about the theory that the Ingersoll and Whitman Houses in Fort Greene were being emptied in anticipation of such a move; it’s…
As we’ve mentioned before, rumors about the privatization of certain public housing projects in parts of rapidly gentrifying areas of Brooklyn have been circulating for a couple of years. Most recently, we wrote about the theory that the Ingersoll and Whitman Houses in Fort Greene were being emptied in anticipation of such a move; it’s also not hard to imagine something similar happening at the Farragut Houses, given their close proximity to Dumbo, the most expensive neighborhood in Brooklyn. Given what a politically and emotionally charged issue this is, however, no public official has ever said anything in its favor, as far as we know. But, on Tuesday, Sean Moss, the regional administrator for the federal Housing and Urban Development Department, went out on a serious limb. In light of the New York Housing Authority’s dismal financial position (an annual shortfall of $200 million), he said, selling public housing buildings in the most upscale areas could make sense. “It may displace some people, and that is a concern,” Moss said. “That is not necessarily a bad thing if you can create more housing [elsewhere] with that.” We’ll see whether political pressures force him to backpedal in the coming days.
Feds Eye NY Building Sale at Housing Projects [NY Daily News]
Bye Bye Public Housing, Hello Luxe Condos? [Curbed]
What’s Really Going on at the Ingersoll Houses? [Brownstoner]
Hear! Hear! Monsieur Montrose Meurice!
FG/GL
11:53
Thanks for your input…my posts may be rambling messes…but at least you’re a good reader so, I assume, you’re slogging through them. At least they don’t have too many typos/grammatical errors.
You seem a voice of knowledgeable reason…even if you’re commenting as a “questâ€, why not sign with initials.
FG/GL
Sorry, Mr. Joist, but it is class warefare. When you read comments like “let them live with relatives”, “public housing should be a temporary safety net…”, you are reading the opinions of people who have no conception of the existence of deprivation, lack of opportunity or education, or lack of choices. What else is that but the difference of income, therefore class. I never brought race into this, and for once, neither has anyone else.
FG/GL and guest at 11:27, you are my new best friends, couldn’t have said it better on all accounts.
They have talked about doing the same thing at Gowanus for many years now. The political will is just not there.
11:46…such a semantic-POS. Hello, we’re talkin’ about “the projects”, Miss Thing. So-called “race” is a HUGE part of this discussion.
FG-GL – how about posting 1 or 3 points at a time – no offense but your posts are rambling messes.
Second this will never happen nor does it need to – the only reason that NYCHA is struggling is mismanagement. These buildings have no mortgages and no taxes (do they even have to pay for water) – they can easily be self-sufficent (if not profitable) on their current RR if they were properly run.
11:08 and 11:09 are horrible people. You should have your tubes tied instead to prevent the rest of us from dealing with your elitest snobby offspring.
To the person asking us to “tone down the poor vs. rich / minority vs. non-minority rhetoric”, thats the whole reason whyt he government is thinking about this issue in the first place.
Blatant racism? Please, if you will, point to one word that has mentioned race.
I’m waiting…
Poverty is not something you get over, like the flu. Talk of only subsidizing housing for three years, and then you are on your own, is unrealistic nonsense. These people are not working at minimum wage jobs, or no jobs at all, because they are waiting for a position at Merrill Lynch to open up.
The reasons for poverty are as varied as the people involved, and as old as the Bible – the poor have always been with us. The draconian solutions of our forefathers – workhouses, jails, transportation, indentured servitude or self-righteous ignoring of the problem and the people, did no good. The prevailing attude from some here makes me think we haven’t changed much at all.
Everything is connected – better educational opportunities lead to better jobs, leads to better salaries and the ability to afford a home without subsidies. If we as a society don’t change the root causes of poverty, we will always be subsidizing food and shelter. It’s about so much more than just paying for an apartment at the Farragut Projects.