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]
I want a corner unit with a view of Manhattan and does Fresh Direct deliver?
Thanks
“Homeboy Hipster”.
Okay, I’m sorry…but I have to weigh in…FG/GL here.
The blatant racism on this thread is shocking. Some of it plays on the fascists’ ideas of race and otherwise, some vast ignorance of what is going on in the real world. Thank goodness for g_man’s entry to rescue this thread from profound retrograde ignorance…Thank you Brooklynnative, Montrose Morris and even Monsieur Le Quoi.
Polemicist, you’re starting to disappoint me again. The shine is coming off our other discussion yesterday.
Armchairwarrior…you’ve made a lot of false assumptions seemingly based on right-wing 80’s-onward anti-government program propaganda: “governments aren’t known to make the best businessmen. everything they run is a huge waste of money.†=Incorrect! The wastes have come from government work being outsourced to private vendors in many cases…And you mentioned “vouchersâ€â€¦hello, what do think Section 8 is? The powers that be have been slashing away at it. Section 8 needs to be expanded. AND landlords who accept Section 8 should be made to keep rental units in good condition. They often (usually) do not. Landlords often collect steep rents on their Section 8 units (our tax dollars at work) but fail to maintain them. The City is not proactive and is seemingly (purposely?) understaffed to handle complaints and problems.
Now, let’s put some issues out there that should be considered…some I’m just reinforcing from other comments above:
**People living in much of NYCHA’s buildings are working people. They have jobs.
**We need affordable housing in NYC…period.
**These projects are currently under pressure from the “criminal†“justice†system.
–Housing policing is horrible.
–Huge numbers of residents are put in jail and sent off to places far away. This is another huge discussion and will probably never get a thread on Brownstoner.
**Rules are atrocious and punitive. If you have a family member who has any kind of record, you can lose your apartment. For example, if you’re uncle was in “the system†and came out 5 years ago, he cannot visit you to say “hello†on Christmas or you may lose your apartment.
**No one seems to mention a possible result of HOMELESSNESS from any moves that shut people out from their affordable housing. Someone above glibby stated displaced people will simply double up living with friends/family or leave the City. Uh…this is not realistic. And BTW the City, as you all should be aware, just messed up on the overnight shelter policy. It turbo-charged its turning away of people every night.
**Many of these projects HAD lots of services and stores nearby but as gentrification pushes in, many stores either change out OR, as in the case of Myrtle Avenue, are razed for our developer friends to put up slap-dab “luxury†gold-toilet-bowl hi-rises
BTW, isn’t “luxury†considered a “sin” we’re supposed to avoid? I see the word splashed onto 10-story vinyl banners hanging on new construction all over the place…you would think marketers could come up with some other words instead of overusing “luxuryâ€.
11.27, I can understand your point of view, but I think the reason why people are mentioning DUMBO and FG projects is that the projects that could viably be sold for a real profit would be those in expensive areas. That was the thrust of the officials comment. Those funds could then be used to build more mixed housing, as opposed to projects where working poor are forced to live with criminal elements in a segregated community.
Unfortunately such a proposal works best if one is looking at the projects in areas where the land would fetch a premium price for redevelopment.
No reason to get all upset about this – IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
There is no precedent for this, there never will be a precedent for this and any speculation regarding this topic will forever remain pure speculation.
I’m wondering…
Let’s say this eventually happens – Could the new owner/developer demolish the existing structures and build towers as high as what is currently in place? Or would they have to be more “contextual” and therefore shorter?
Have there been any precedents like this in NYC?
Of course, the beautiful idea of breaking up pockets of poverty by selling off Fort Greene projects only comes up when Fort Greene becomes a destination for rich people. Yes, yes, then there’s the brilliant realization that driving people out of their homes is actually *doing them a favor*, we’ll be “breaking up the culture of poverty”! I notice no one is proposing selling off the Tompkins Projects in Bed Stuy. What transparent b.s. Selling projects isn’t being proposed to *help* the working poor and disabled people who live in the projects. Give me a break. 420,000 people live in NYCHA apartments. With all the ranting on this site about a housing shortage (as justification for tearing down 100 year old limestones), I ask you — where are these folks going to live? Oh, oh, I know! The perennial answer from Brownstoner posters — “Nobody has a *right* to live in NYC”. Ergo, when a neighborhood become “nice”, it’s time to clear out (forcibly if necessary, by selling off public property) the grubby folks who’ve lived there for decades. Doesn’t anybody around here have any shame?
Montrose, 11:07am:
You make all these great, well-reasoned points and then always follow them up with foolish class/race warfare comments, such as:
“It’s really easy for someone in their million dollar DUMBO loft, or Ft. Greene townhouse to make pronouncements on what “they” should do…”
“This means that the people whose voices are heard in this city – by that I mean the upper classes…”
Get a grip. If you want to be an effective advocate you need to tone down the poor vs. rich / minority vs. non-minority rhetoric.
Or… lower the costs to run the buildings, raise the rents slightly, sell off non-core assets (like parking lots), and develop and lease out underutilized space for retail.
There are plenty of buildings in NY much older than these that make quite a bit of $ while providing affordable housing – and more then likely the owners didnt get the real estate essentially for free and they also have to pay heavy duty taxes.
The only way these buildings cant be run properly and without massive losses is through gross mismanagement
how odd to me that Hope Gardens was the last housing project built, a low-density if sprawling solution. it was also by far the most successful project in town. why don’t they build more like that (with perhaps a bit of extra aesthetic attention)?