NYCHA Eyeing LES for Market-Rate Apartmen​ts | De Blasio Spars with Giuliani on Homelessness

Photo by Andriy Prokopenko/Curbed Flickr pool

1. NYCHA Eyeing Lower East Side for Market Rate Apartments “As part of the New York City Housing Authority’s controversial NextGeneration program, which calls for leasing land to private developers, a large number of market-rate apartments are expected to be built on the housing authority’s properties in the next ten years. And at a recent presentation to Community Board 3, NYCHA director of governmental relations Brian Honan revealed that the Lower East Side may be one of the sites that the housing authority is considering for the plan. According to Bedford + Bowery, Honan didn’t reveal any concrete plans—though those are expected to be announced sometime in the next week or so—but did say that ‘there are plenty of development opportunities in the Lower East Side.’” [Curbed NY – 09/08/15]
2. De Blasio Sees ‘Tale of Two Rudys’ on Homelessness “Mayor Bill de Blasio called former mayor Rudy Giuliani ‘delusional’ on Monday, after Giuliani wrote an op-ed in the New York Post blaming de Blasio’s administration for causing the city’s homelessness crisis. ‘I think he’s delusional,’ de Blasio told reporters during a press conference at the West Indian Day Parade on Monday. Sunday’s op-ed was the second time in as many weeks the former Republican mayor has leveled harsh criticism at de Blasio’s homelessness policies. Late last month, Giuliani said in an interview that de Blasio, beset by a homelessness crisis and an increase in the number of people sleeping on city streets, should follow the example set under the Giuliani administration, when the city aggressively ‘chased’ homeless off of the city’s streets. Giuliani softened his tone in the op-ed, suggesting it was inhumane for the de Blasio administration to allow homeless individuals to sleep on the city’s streets instead of forcing them into treatment or shelter.” [Politico NY – 09/07/15]
3. Why a Stronger Housing Sector Isn’t Boosting the U.S. Economy That Much “The U.S. housing market dragged the economy into a deep recession nearly eight years ago. Could it now insulate the domestic expansion during a fragile period of global growth? Recent numbers look promising, but several obstacles—including shifts in where young households want to live, their capacity to take on debt and rising costs for home builders—suggest the sector won’t soon offer breakout growth. First, the good news: New foreclosures have dropped to precrisis levels and sales of previously owned homes—the bulk of the market—have climbed to the pace of the early 2000s. Rising housing prices have made homeowners feel better about spending on their homes. The problem: Housing still isn’t contributing much to overall economic growth because new construction of single-family homes, which packs an outsize economic punch, is stuck near levels hit during the early 1990s recession.” [Wall Street Journal – 09/07/15]
4. Councilman Says Landmarks Bill Was Steered Around Him to Help It Pass “A member of a City Council subcommittee is charging that a controversial bill was steered around the panel because he opposes the measure. City Councilman Ben Kallos objects to legislation that would impose deadlines on the Landmarks Preservation Commission when it considers parcels or districts for historic designations. As a result, he said, the bill was allowed to bypass the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses on which he sits. Instead it was sent to the larger Committee on Land Use, where Mr. Kallos said his dissenting voice will have less of an impact. ‘I’m disappointed … to have this legislation, which would undermine the Landmarks Preservation Commission and weaken the landmark law, bypass our subcommittee and go straight to Land Use,’ the Manhattan Democrat said, indicating it was deliberately routed this way to lessen the bill’s chance of defeat.” [Crain’s New York Business – 09/04/15]
5. Bill Aimed at Clearing Landmarks’ Backlog Will Hurt City’s History: Critics “A bill going before the City Council this week could streamline bureaucracy in local government or cause New York City to lose some of its historic architecture without reason — depending on who you ask about it. The legislation being considered Wednesday would set up deadlines for decisions made by Landmarks Preservation Commission for the first time in its 50 year history, the bill’s co-sponsor Brooklyn Councilmember David Greenfield told the New York Times. The commission currently has a backlog of two historic districts and about 100 buildings under consideration, 85 percent of which has languished for decades, according to the commission. The LPC decides which buildings and neighborhoods in New York City have significant historical value and is charged with protecting those landmarks from aggressive alteration. Any attempt to change so much as a window in a landmarked building or historic district must get the commission’s permission.” [DNAinfo – 09/07/15]
6. Buddy Can You Spare $2M? New York’s Housing Crisis “Last year, the average price of a home in Manhattan hit $1.87m (£1.22m). Developers target the lucrative high-end market, where margins can be spectacular, and most families spend over a third of their income on rent. It is a toxic mix intensifying inequality in the city. And in New York, your money doesn’t go far. According to a 2009 report by the Center for an Urban Future, a person earning $60,000 a year in Manhattan had the same standard of living as someone making $26,000 in Atlanta. At the heart of the De Blasio plan to unify the two cities is an ambitious programme to create 200,000 affordable housing units over 10 years, capable of housing more than 500,000 people - more than the entire population of the city of Atlanta.” [BBC – 09/08/15]
7. After a Long haul, Developer Finalizes $240M Acquisition of Long Island College Hospital Site “Fortis Property Group has completed its $240 million acquisition of Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Fortis emerged the victor from a bidding process last year that was mired in controversy. The firm pledged to preserve a medical facility operated by NYU Langone Medical Center at the site and create 223,000 square feet of affordable housing. However, the developer also plans to erect residential towers as tall as 40 stories in a neighborhood that many consider the heart of brownstone Brooklyn. In recent months, Fortis has been meeting with Councilman Brad Lander, whose district includes Cobble Hill, along with the public to discuss a deal in which Fortis would seek to increase the size of the development in exchange for concessions to the community.” [Crain’s New York Business – 09/03/15]
8. When Finding Housing Is a Job in Itself “Six years ago I went into the New York City shelter system. For 11 months, I searched for apartments like crazy. I had few options. I had just come out of a psychiatric hospital. I had a 4-year-old son and was pregnant with my daughter. I had a housing voucher and was living off of Supplementary Security Income (a Social Security program) and food stamps. I went in and out of real estate offices until I found an apartment at the western edge of the Bronx, in the River Park Towers. The area was bad and flooded with drugs. I wanted to give my children better than what I had growing up, but I was down to my last straw. I had no choice. I tried to make the best of our one bedroom by putting up curtains that matched my living room set and buying cable TV. But the apartment began to fall apart soon after we moved in. The toilet stopped up, the elevator didn’t work, and the landlord didn’t make repairs. On winter nights, we would freeze because the windows let in cold air.” [New York Times – 09/06/15]
9. How the Co-op Crumbles “For three decades, Todd Selbert has lived in a sunny one-bedroom on the Upper East Side, surrounded by books, his vast jazz record collection and several abstract oil paintings. A former advertising executive, Mr. Selbert, 75, owns the top floor of a four-story co-op at 150 East 78th Street. But recently an investor purchased the other three units in the building, and consequently Mr. Selbert may soon find himself a tenant in his own home. He may even face eviction. ‘I love my apartment. I love my neighborhood. I love my block,’ he said, sitting beside a large window overlooking the tree-lined street. ‘It is just hard to believe I’ve found myself in this position.’ Co-op apartment buildings like Mr. Selbert’s were once considered impervious to the condominium craze that is sweeping New York City. But with the ever-increasing demand for residential real estate, record high land prices and few available development sites, small co-ops are emerging as one of the few remaining creative development options — albeit a complicated and costly one.” [New York Times – 09/04/15]
10. Housing Discrimination Doesn’t Begin or End with ‘Poor Doors’ “Last year, a widely publicized ‘poor door’ at a mixed income development in New York City captured the public’s imagination as a visible symbol of an unfair housing practice. A developer constructing a residential building in Manhattan with 219 high-end condominiums and 55 affordable rental units adopted a design, with approval from New York City, which includes separate entrances to the building. One entrance is for condo owners and another back entrance is for renters residing in the affordable housing units. In mixed-income developments, affordable units are often disproportionately occupied by people of color and people with disabilities while the luxury market-rate units are primarily occupied by affluent, non-disabled whites. It is understandable that civil rights and affordable housing advocates along with local political leaders urged the city to prohibit such practices in the future.” [City Limits – 09/08/15]