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NYCHA's First Privately-Developed Apartments Will Be 100% "Affordable"
By
Emma Whitford
Published Jul 2, 2015
Modified Jul 2, 2015
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By
Emma Whitford
Published Jul 2, 2015
Modified Jul 2, 2015
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Back in May, Mayor de Blasio announced a 10-year plan that, he hopes, will chip away at the New York City Housing Authority's staggering deficits, and ultimately contribute to his lofty (and ever receding) campaign goal of building/preserving 120,000 units of affordable housing in the next decade.
Yesterday, one of the more controversial aspects of the plan was set in motion: A joint press release from NYCHA and Department of Housing Preservation and Development invited private developers to submit proposals for 100% affordable housing units at three NYCHA developments across the city—the Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene, the Van Dyke Houses in Brownsville, and the Mill Brook Houses in Mott Haven.
Not only will these three developments be rent stabilized, but they will be reserved for senior citizens and families making less than 60% of the AMI, or $51,780 for a family of four. NYCHA residents will have "preference" for 25% of the units.
Patricia Brown, a Mill Brook resident, is optimistic. She said in a statement, "In Mott Haven, we are seeing the rents go up all around us, while the neighborhood has fewer and fewer options for people to live. If families and senior citizens are going to stay in the community we need more affordable housing."
But Van Dyke resident Lisa Kenner worried that her neighborhood needs more amenities, not just more housing units. She told the News, "They just keep dumping people here. Let's get building the economy up in the neighborhood."
Capitol reports that NYCHA is anticipating between 400 and 500 units of affordable housing to come out of this plan, but has urged developers to send along their own estimates.
According to the press release, NYCHA will provide "critical oversight" to these projects, and will require developers to train and hire NYCHA residents during construction.
De Blasio's decision to lease NYCHA land to private developers solicited raised eyebrows this spring, especially since the mayor was critical of a similar plan put forward by Bloomberg in 2013. However, while Bloomberg proposed that only 20% of units developed on NYCHA property be affordable, de Blasio called for a minimum of 50%.
"The key here, is that these are affordable housing," said NYCHA spokeswoman Jean Weinberg. However, "There will be other RFPs in the future that will be 50/50." The News reports that NYCHA will invite 50/50 proposals later this summer, on "high value" land, in neighborhoods like the Lower East Side. All told, de Blasio is hoping that leasing to private developers will generate between $400 and $800 million for NYCHA in the next decade. This, for an organization that's staring down an estimated $17 billion in unmet capital needs in the next five years.
Proposals from private developers are due September 30th, 2015. In the meantime, a recent audit conducted by Comptroller Scott Stringer's office found that, due in part to NYCHA's $6-13 billion deficit, hundreds of existing NYCHA units stand unnecessarily empty.
Tagged
affordable housing
mayor de blasio
nycha
Private development
real estate
Emma Whitford
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