MITCHELL-LAMA RESIDENTS COALITION

Vol. 24, Issue 3 WEBSITE: www.mitchell-lama.org September 2018 Two Mitchell-Lama developments Get out the vote! key lesson agree to long-term affordability plans of the primaries ew affordability deals for residents plus stores and the British International School of New York. Waterside residents, he central lesson of the recent of Waterside Plaza and Westview, Democratic primaries in both the two Mitchell-Lama complexes most of whom are elderly, voted 199 to 0 N in support of the deal. city and the state: voting counts, near the , were announced in T today perhaps more than ever. "Get out August by the owners and both the City Rent increases would vary with the finances of the tenants. Those whose the vote" may well be the new rallying cry and the State. Waterside Plaza residents for those seeking housing justice. will see rent increases limited for seven- income is below 165 percent of the area's median income ($83,000 for a family of The victories in the Democratic ty-five years; Westview residents will have primaries in September came as little a thirty-year reprieve. two) would get a rent freeze. Residents who earn above that amount might see surprise, as establishment or "centrist" increase of either 2.25 percent a year, or figures beat their more progressive oppo- Waterside Plaza nents in the three top races: Governor, in Under an agreement reached be- the official Rent Stabilization rates, which- ever is higher. Very poor tenants might which Andrew Cuomo garnered around tween the city and real estate developer two-thirds of the vote over newcomer Richard Ravitch, the owner would keep have their rents reduced to thirty percent of their income. Cynthia Nixon's one-third; Lt. Governor, 325 apartments--all that remain un- where Kathy Hochul, the office's acting der rent regulations of the original 1470 official, beat Jumaane Williams by a units--permanently affordable for seven- Westview Westview, consisting of two 19-sto- small margin of six points (53 percent ty-five years. to 47 percent); and Attorney General, In exchange for restrictions on rent ry buildings with 361 apartments, will leave the Mitchell-Lama program, but in which Letitia James, the City's public increases in a rapidly gentrifying area, the advocate, won over Zephyr Teachout and owner will be guaranteed a ground lease tenants will be offered an opportunity to purchase their units at low prices (roughly two others with 41 percent of the vote. for ninety-nine years. (That part of the Pretty much as widely predicted. deal, however, is still subject to the city's 30 percent of market value). Tenants who choose not to buy will still be allowed to But there was one striking devel- uniform land use review procedure, and opment in this primary: the number of must secure approval by the City Council. remain in their apartments at Rent Stabil- Continued on page 8 Democratic voters who went to the poll- The process generally takes around six to ing booths more than doubled that in eight months.) Ravitch has been attempt- Masaryk, Lakeview affordability 2014. ing to extend the ground lease in order to In a tabulation by the upstate ate breaking news: Masaryk Tow- refinance the mortgage. Under the new newspaper Democrat & Chronicle, ers and Lakeview Apartments, both deal, the owner's payments to the city will L around 1.5 million registered Democrats, related to the Mitchell Lama program, be reduced. or more than 24 percent of all those reg- to accept affordablity offer for decades. The complex include four towers, Continued on page 8 twenty townhouses, and a large plaza, Pages 2 and 6.

Strengthen MLRC Join today (use form on page 2)

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING Saturday, October 27, 2018 10:00 a.m - noon

NOTE: If weather is inclement, prospective attendees should call the MLRC hotline at 212-465-2619 after 6 a.m., to learn if the meeting’s been canceled due to the weather.

CONTACT: [email protected] PLACE: Musicians Union, Local 802, 322 W. 48th St., near 8th Ave. in the ground floor “Club Room.” Subway trains: No. 1 to 50th St. & 7th Ave.; Q,W to 49th St. & Broadway; E

to 50th St. & 8th Ave. Mitchell-Lama Residents Coalition PO Box 20414 Station Park West 10025 NY York, New Page 2 September 2018

Masaryk Towers will receive UPCOMING EVENTS city financing to retain affordability

asaryk Towers, a 1960s Mitch- The Masaryk Towers project follows ell-Lama cooperative on the HDC's offer of $320 million for new afford- MLRC MLower , will receive city able housing construction and preservation General Membership financing to provide low-interest mortgage of some five thousand units in the Bronx, loans to shareholders, in return for caps Brooklyn, and Queens. Meeting on sellers’ profits and limits on buyers’ A year ago, Masaryk Towers found Saturday, October 27, 2018 income. itself embroiled in a public controversy 10:00 a.m. - noon Financing for the 1,000-unit coop- when it constructed locked gates that cut erative, in the amount of $45 million, will off a popular shortcut used for years by be made available by the Housing Develop- residents of nearby NYCHA projects. The Members are urged to voice concerns ment Corporation. HDC signed off on the shortcut had enabled the housing author- regarding their developments, financing in late September. ity residents, many of whom are elderly, especially long- and short-term The project is an example of the de to walk about five minutes to the Grand standing issues Blasio administration's efforts to stem the Street Settlement, a century-old institution loss of Mitchell- Lama developments and offering social services. The trip will now Musicians Union, Local 802, other affordable housing programs to lux- average around thirty minutes. Supporters 322 W. 48th St., near 8th Ave. ury accomodations. An estimated 20,000 of the gates had long complained of van- in the ground floor “Club Room” M-L units, both rentals and cooperatives, dalism on the walkway. have been lost since 1989. NOTE: If weather is inclement, prospec- tive attendees should call the MLRC hot- line at 212-465-2619 after 6 a.m., to learn if Bob Wilson, Knickerbocker Village the meeting’s been canceled due to the tenant leader, dies in apparent suicide weather. ob Wilson, a long time tenant leader community where he had lived most of his For more information, e-mail: info@ Bat Knickerboker Village, the housing life, Wilson was praised by various com- mitchell-lama.org development where he grew up, committed munity leaders. Susan Stetzer, the district suicide in July. He was 78 years old. manager of Community Board 3, called No suicide note was available, but him "wonderful," specifically mentioning press reports indicate that the former pres- his efforts during Hurricane Sandy, when Mitchell-Lama Residents ident of the development's tenants associ- he led tours of elected officials to acquaint ation had been treated for post traumatic them with the problems tenants faced. Coalition, Inc. stress and major depressive disorder.” He An online remembrance of Wilson had been a marine in the Vietnam war. quoted by a local newspaper noted that Officers Press reports indicate that Wilson he had been born in Washington, DC, and Co-chairs: Jackie Peters fell from the balcony of his Monroe St. moved to New York as a child with his Ed Rosner penthouse apartment on July 2. The City's mother. Sonja Maxwell chief medical examiner confirmed that He attended Brooklyn College and Wilson’s death was a suicide, caused by worked for the City's Bureau of Invest- Treasurer: Carmen Ithier “multiple blunt-impact injuries.” ments for several years. Corresponding Sec’y: Katy Bordonaro Well-known in the MLRC NEWSLETTER STAFF

Editor: Ed Rosner JOIN THE MITCHELL-LAMA RESIDENTS COALITION Assistant editors: Katy Bordonaro Sonja Maxwell 2018 Jackie Peters INDIVIDUAL: $15 per year; DEVELOPMENT: 25 cents per apt Managing editor: Nathan Weber ($30 Minimum; $125 Maximum) Name ______Circulation: 5,000 Address ______City______State ______Zip code _____ Articles, letters and photographs are Evening phone______Day phone ______welcome. Send to MLRC, PO Box 20414, Park West, New York, NY Fax ______E-mail______10025. Fax: (212) 864-8165. Voice Current ML: Co-op ______Rental______Mail: (212) 465-2619. E-mail: Former ML: Co-op ______Rental ______Development ______President’s name ______Donations in addition to dues are welcome. September 2018 Page 3 Inwood rezoning passes Council following months of controversy fter months of vociferous opposi- move intended to meet the concerns of protect at least 2,500 homes. tion by various community resi- small businesses and residents about dis- dents, and numerous changes to placement. Key transportation elements A The number of newly created apart- entail improving priority intersections along the original plan, the City Council voted almost unanimously in August to approve ments to be rented at affordable prices will 10th Avenue, focusing on providing better an upzoning of Inwood, perhaps the last vary from 20 to 25 percent. pedestrian crossings, simplifying complex remaining moderate/middle income A report on the plan published in intersections, and calming traffic. Inter- neighborhood in the city where most of the City Limits notes that "developers will sections will include 10th Avenue at West buildings are rent regulated. choose between devoting 25 percent of 205th Street, West 207th Street, West 218th A central goal of the plan is to in- units to rents affordable to households Street, as well as Dyckman Street and Na- crease the availability of affordable apart- making 60 percent of the area median gle Avenue. Improvements could include ments, by requiring developers seeking to income (which is an estimated $56,340 for reduced pedestrian crossing distances, and avail themselves of the plan's benefits to a household of three persons) or setting new crosswalks, sidewalks and traffic sig- include a percentage of such units in any aside 20 percent of units to be affordable nals. construction undertaking. On its website, to those making 40 percent of the area the City Council noted that the goal of the median income, which is $37,560 for a Key parks and open space ele- upzoning is to "promote the development household of three persons." ments include: of thousands of affordable apartments," ●Construction of new two-acre wa- and generate other economic improve- Key housing elements of the plan, terfront City park on the former Academy ments. according to the City Council, include the Street east of 10th Avenue across the street Among the Councilmembers sup- following: from NYCHA’s Dyckman Houses. porting the plan was Ydanis Rodriquez, ●The City will build 925 new afford- ●Restoration of the North Cove as an who represents the district in which the able apartments on public land (Inwood ecological resource, and changing the area upzoning will occur. The only "no" vote Library, 4095 Ninth Ave, and Dyckman currently used for parking to become part of was cast by Brooklyn Councilmember Inez Houses). a new North Cove park. Barron. Councilmember Jumaane Wil- ●The City will work to finance 1000 ●Renovation of Monsignor Kett liams abstained. new affordable apartments on private land. Playground including an intergenerational After the vote, Councilman Francis- ●An estimated 675 additional af- fitness area and new comfort station. co Moya of Queens announced that he was fordable units will be created via Mandato- ●Repairing waterfront infrastructure halting further land-use negotiations with ry Inclusionary Housing. along the River to address structur- the city in rezoned areas. Moya, who chairs ●The City will work to preserve or al integrity of waterfront edge structures. the Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, had insisted that construction workers on affordable housing projects be paid prevailing wages, and that the city Former Yonkers M-L development should increase its anti-harassment efforts against landlords. City officials dismissed razed for new affordable apartments his threat. town house in Yonkers that was less than 30 percent of the Area Median In- The issue of upzoning has long been once the site of a Mitchell Lama come, as well as for those earning less than contentious in the city. Supporters cite a housing development has been 50 percent, 60 percent, and for those with standard "supply and demand" argument: A razed for a new form of affordable housing. no income restrictions. that the increased allowable height will The former townhouse, at 209 Yonkers' municipal housing author- enable developers to construct many more Warburton Avenue, was demolished at the ity and Community Builders are partners apartments, and this additional supply end of August in preparation for "town- in the project. According to the project's will serve ultimately to force down rents. house-style" affordable units. website, the buildings "will have green/ Opponents argue that years of construct- The demolition and subsequent high performance features in compliance ing new apartments in the city have not reconstruction are the third part of a larg- with NYSERDA Multifamily program and only not lowered rents, but have increased er project known as the Cottage Place LEED for Homes and will serve to re-invig- them to stratospheric heights. They also Gardens revitalization. Project Three will orate pedestrian activity along Warburton fear that upzoning is but a first step to opening the gates to luxury developments, include 70 units of townhouse-style afford- Avenue and Willow Place by providing new which ultimately--in spite of laws and able housing. sidewalks, street trees, and site lighting." regulations to the contrary--will result in An additional 56 units to be replaced Additional work will be done on the forcing out moderate and middle income in the $41.9 billion project are known as New Little Branches day care center, to in- residents. They cite neighborhood after the Villas at the Ridgeway. clude "structural repairs, roof replacement, neighborhood--from Chelsea in Manhat- The new structures will comprise upgrades, new finishes, and new mechan- tan to Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn--as four-story rowhouse-style walk-up apart- ical and electrical equipment to supplant typical. ment buildings containing 70 units of the outmoded systems in place today." A significant modification of the mixed-income housing for families earning original plan was to remove any upzoning in the so-called Commercial U district, a Page 4 September 2018

State comptroller critiques HPD City to launch $1.5 million and Linden Plaza on expenditures anti-displacement program he owner of Linden Plaza, a required . . . With limited exception, ew York City will launch a $1.5 million Brooklyn Mitchell-Lama de- there was no documentation indicat- anti-displacement pilot program, to begin velopment comprising 1,525 ing that Linden Plaza had conducted Nin recently rezoned areas of , T Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, and the Inwood and apartments, is seeking rent hikes to price analyses or taken any other cover $10.7 million in purchases be- steps to determine the reasonableness Washington Heights sections of . tween January 2016 and August 2017 of prices." Funding will come from the city's depart- that were never reviewed by the city's The report also criticized Lin- ment of Housing Preservation and the Develop- Department of Housing Preservation den Plaza for insufficient documen- ment and the Housing Development Corporation, and Development to check for com- tation of at least one vendor. Further, along with Enterprise Community Partners, a petitive bidding. "We sampled 50 invoices totaling nonprofit affordable housing financing and man- According to a report issued by $87,914 (out of 204 invoices totaling agement group. Thomas DiNapoli, the state's comp- $577,822) for plumbing work. We A statement from HPD noted that the pro- troller, the reason for the lack of re- found 20 invoices totaling $45,710 gram, to be called Partners in Preservation, "will view was that the money was spent ei- that did not match purchase/work or- serve as a hub for local anti-displacement initia- ther without a contract, or on various ders and/or lacked evidence that the tives" in the areas, where "high rates of speculative contracts which were under $100,000 work was completed." The ower of the investment and rising rents have made residents each. City rules do not require com- development was also criticized for particularly vulnerable to tenant harassment and petitive bidding for contracts that are lacking an adequate inventory system. displacement." less than that amount, or for purchas- DiNapli recommended an ex- Funds will be distributed to communi- es made without a contract, regardless pansion of "requirements for bidding ty-based organizations "to jointly coordinate of dollar amount. and/or HPD approval and ensure that anti-displacement initiatives – such as code en- Of the $10.7 million, $6.1 mil- the Rules are enforced;" and a re- forcement, tenant organizing and education, legal lion was paid to eleven vendors with quirement that "invoices only be paid representation, affirmative litigation, and other contracts for services not covered by when supported by adequate doc- strategies." the rules. The remaining funds were umentation." It also suggested that paid to vendors that did not have con- Linden Plaza "establish and maintain tracts with Linden Plaza. an inventory control system to prop- MLRC Developments The rules, according to DiNap- erly account for assets. oli, "do not specify when a contract is These developments are members of the Mitchell-Lama Residents Coalition New York Times advocates Individual Membership: $15 per year Development Membership: 25 cents per apt pro-tenant rent reforms ($30 minimum; $125 maximum) he New York Times on Septem- for apartments where the rent has Donations above membership dues are welcome ber 10th recommended a series reached $2,733.45. That amount, not of rent reforms in Albany that long ago considered high-end, is now Adee Towers Assn T Amalgamated Warbasse Meadow Manor many tenant groups have long advo- considered "affordable" for many city Arverne Apartments Michangelo Apartments cated. apartments. The Times recommends Bethune Towers 109th St. Senior Citizens Acknowledging that the state's keeping all stabilized apartments Castleton Park Plaza lawmakers--recipients of tens of in the program, with gradual rent Central Park Gardens 158th St & Riverside Dr. millions of dollars from real estate increments to reflect owners costs Clayton Apartments Housing interests--"have been gutting New and rates set by the Rent Guidelines Coalition to save Affordable Parkside Development Housing of Co-op City Pratt Towers York City’s rent regulations for de- Board. Concerned Tenants of Sea Promenade Apartments cades, putting hundreds of thousands ¶ Ending vacancy bonuses, Park East, Inc. RNA House of rent-stabilized apartments on the which allows owners to raise rent by Concourse Village Riverbend Housing open market, driving up housing costs twenty percent whenever an apart- Dennis Lane Apartments River Terrace and forcing poor and middle-class ment is vacated. The law provides an 1199 Housing River View Towers New Yorkers out of their homes," the "incentive for continually displacing Esplanade Gardens Rosedale Gardens Co-op Franklin Plaza Ryerson Towers editorial presented a series of reforms tenants, a pervasive form of harass- Independence House Starrett City Tenants Assn sought for decades by pro-tenant ment. Tenants Assn St. James Towers associations, including the Mitchell- ¶ Ending the preferential rent Independence Plaza North Strykers Bay Co-op Lama Residents Association. bonus, which allows owners to raise Inwood Towers Tivoli Towers The reforms advocated includ- the rent to reach a theoretical "legal Jefferson Towers Tower West ed: rent" at lease renewal time, instead Knickerbocker Plaza Village East Towers Linden Plaza Washington Park SE Apts ¶ Overturning the Urstadt law, of when the tenant vacates the apart- Lindsay Park Washington Square SE Apts which prevents the City from enacting ment. Lindville Housing Westgate Tenants Assn rent regulations without the approval ¶ Strengthening the state's Lincoln Amsterdam House Westgate of the state legislature, which is domi- Homes and Community Renewal Manhattan Plaza Westview Apartments nated by real estate supporters. division, to enforce greater landlord Marcus Garvey Village West View Neighbors Assn ¶ Ending vacancy decontrol accountability. Masaryk Towers Tenants Houses September 2018 Page 5 Affordable housing news Local Housing Briefs from around the nation NYC to consolidate voucher programs Nationwide: rents are easing, ¶Almost a third of mobile home In an effort to eliminate confusion but only for the rich parks in LA are in areas zoned for com- stemming from numerous rent-subsidy pro- grams, the city will consolidate all voucher Rent levels in expensive cities mercial or industrial purposes, not resi- across the nation are finally declin- dential uses; as such, they are exposed to types under a single program in the fall. As ex- ing--for the wealthy. For low- and moder- more environmental hazards. plained by Steven Banks, the commissioner of ate-income tenants, they are continuing social services, "Rather than seven programs to rise. Accoding to the Washington Post, Seattle: Council repeals with unique criteria, we will now have one which analyzed data from Zillow, a real unified program with consolidated criteria.” 'head tax' for affordable housing Complaints about the current system have estate monitoring firm, "Nationally, the One month after unanimously been expressed by both tenants and landlords. pace of rent increases is beginning to passing a “head tax” on very large cor- The new system, City Fighting Homelessness slow down, with the average rent in at porations to fund affordable housing, & Eviction Prevention Supplement, will no least six cities falling since last summer. . the city council repealed it, giving in to longer require vouchers to expire after five . But the decline is being driven primarily opponents, primarily giant companies years. by decreasing prices for high-end rentals. like Amazon and Starbucks who charac- People in low-end housing, the apart- terized the program as a "tax on jobs." In ments and other units that house work- fact, the tax would not have been levied 11 percent of HUD and M-L subsidy ing-class residents, are still paying more on either employees or jobs, but on the programs may expire by 2023 than ever." giant corporations, who would have been Of the 2,663 properties in the city with charged $275 per employee per year. It HUD and Mitchell-Lama subsidies in 2017, eleven percent are eligible to expire out of af- Montana: county moves to help would have affected only three percent of the city’s firms (around 500) whose gross fordability restrictions by 2023. A new report former inmates secure rentals revenue exceeded more than $20 million from NYU's Furman Center found that almost Missoula County is entering into a annually. It had been expected to raise three quarters of developments eligible to pilot program to help about 75 formerly $47 million per year. expire by 2023 are in Brooklyn and Manhat- incarcerated people secure affordable tan. In the next fifteen years, Manhattan will rental housing. With the second-high- Baltimore: City to allocate $20m have 454 properties with expiring subsidies; est homeless population and the sec- Brooklyn will have 433. ond-highest number of people in correc- yearly to housing trust fund Mayor Catherine Pugh’s office and tions supervision in the state, the county Former Jehovah's Witness building is working with a local human resource members of city council, bowing to pres- council to find rental housing for about sure from community activists, agreed to to house affordable apartments 75 people who are returning from incar- allocate $20 million a year to the city’s The Brooklyn building that former- ceration. All will be supervised by the affordable housing trust fund. Created ly served as headquarters for the Jehovah's Montana Department of Corrections. A in 2016, the fund has remained empty, Witness religion, and also as a hotel that never similar program in Pennsylvania’s Union impelling activists to lobby residents opened, will be transformed into an affordable County resulted in a 22 percent drop in for a ballot question that would require housing devlopement by early 2020. Breaking the recidivism rate. the city to set aside 0.05 percent of its Ground, a nonprofit housing provider, plans total property assessment for affordable to start renovations next year. The group said that 127 units will be single-bedrooms, which LA: Mobile homes growing housing. Under the agreement reached in August, the activists will not push for the "will be geared toward low-income, working resource for low-cost dwellings ballot in November. families." The remainder, to include studios Mobile home parks are emerging and other units, will be rented to formerly as a growing resource for the increasing homeless low-income individuals. number of people who cannot afford Cincinnati: Judge effectively criminalizes being homeless traditional apartments or houses. A Affordable units slated report in How Housing Matters notes Robert Ruehlman , a Cincinnati that "more than six percent of Americans judge, banned homeless camps in Ham- for old Greenpoint Hospital live in mobile homes, and more than a ilton County, Ohio, and ordered police to The former Greenpoint Hospital, a cen- million Californians live in mobile home arrest anyone who defied the order. His tury-old building in Brooklyn that served as a parks." Problems include: order “effectively made being homeless in medical center for seventy years and later as a ¶Mobile home parks tend to be in most of Cincinnati illegal," according to homeless shelter, will be renovated as afford- low-density neighborhoods at the urban US district judge Timothy Black. Ruehl- able housing, largely for the very low income, fringe and tend to have inadequate access man justified his ruling on the grounds and for seniors. One of two buildings on the to public services. that sufficient shelters are available for site will be refurbished as a new center for ¶People living in mobile home homeless people who now live on the the homeless. Hudson Companies, a private parks have poor access to transit, which streets. Police moved quickly to calm real estate developer, will work with St. Nicks limits access to jobs. fears of mass arrests. They say that they Alliance and Project Renewal, two commu- ¶Mobile home parks in LA experi- will continue to direct the homeless to nity groups, to create 512 units of affordable ence worse drinking water service, reli- shelters and social service agencies rather housing. The renovation will include two ability, quality, and affordability. than arrest them. new buildings as well as conversion of existing structures. Page 6 September 2018

Forty-year reprieve Q and A on Mitchell-Lama for Lakview tenants : My mother lives in Mitchell-Lama housing, and I want to take over her akeview Apartments, a 446-unit cent of the area median income; Qlease. What are the rules for succes- Mitchell Lama development in Requiring capital improvements sion? East Harlem, will remain afford- and repairs including new roofs, new L : Above all, providing proof that able to tenants for around forty years, kitchens, an upgraded bathrooms for all and will include long term protections apartments; you’re related to the current tenant for income-eligible tenants, as a result An upgraded security system, Aand have lived in the apartment with of an agreement by the state's Homes upgraded laundry rooms, renovated them. and Community Renewal. Announced lobbies, energy improvements, and new Succeeding a current tenant or co-op at the end of September, the agreement elevators; shareholder requires fulfilling several qual- will also allow the owner of the complex "Preserving long-term affordabil- ifications. First, the resident must have per- to make structural improvements, in- ity under Rental Assistance Demonstra- manently vacated the apartment. This can cluding repairs and an updated security tion, a program of the U.S. Department occur if he or she dies, moves elsewhere, or system. of Housing and Urban Development is in a nursing home with no likelihood of As with so many other Mitch- that is enabling nearly all Lakeview being able to move back into the unit. ell Lama developments, Lakeview was tenants to spend no more than 30 per- You must also be a member of the eligible to exit the ML program and cent of their income on rent. With RAD, resident's family. Family members are as defined by statute. They can be related in a charge market rate rents, which most if apartments are kept affordable through traditional or non-traditional sense. They not all current tenants (as well as resi- a long-term contract that provides can be related by blood or marriage (e.g. dents in other ML buildings) could not Section 8 funding to designated apart- spouses, children, parents, siblings, grand- afford. ments." children or grandparents). You can prove a A statement released by Gov. This higher level of Section 8 familial connection through documentation Andrew Cuomo's office noted that the funding was secured by Senator Charles like a birth or marriage certificate. If you agreement included the following stipu- Schumer and Representative Adriano are a non-traditional family member you lations: Espaillat, according to a statement by must prove that you had an emotionally and Restricting apartments to new the governor's office. financially interdependent relationship with tenants who earn no more than 110 per- the former tenant. In addition, you must have co-occu- New state law requires M-L pied the apartment with the person you’re and other co-ops to include more succeeding for two years (if you are under 62 years old and don’t have a disability) or contract information in annual reports one year (if you’re over 62 or have a disabil- ity.) ondominium and cooperative hous- including information on the contract Although you no longer have to be Cing corporations, including those in recipient, amount, and the purpose of listed on your predecessor’s annual income the Mitchell Lama program, will now entering into the contract. affidavit, it’s still a good idea to make sure have to submit an annual report to the In addiiton, the report must con- your predecessor is listing you on theirs, as members of the governing board re- tain the record of each meeting includ- it will help your application for succession garding information about contracts ing director attendance, voting records move along more smoothly. entered into that were subject to certain for contracts, and how each director You can also prove your tenancy in transactions. voted on such contracts; and the date the apartment by filing state income taxes The requirement became law of each vote on each contract, as well as from that address—if you haven’t filed then, after the appropriate bills passed both the contract date. it can be fatal to your succession. the Assembly and Senate. The bill had been introduced Registering to vote, as well as having Specifically, the annual report in the Senate by Republican Martin J. a driver’s license, credit cards, bank state- must include a list of all contracts Golden of Brooklyn, who had formerly ments, gym memberships, or medical and voted on by the board of directors, served on the Council. employment records at that address, are also strong forms of proof that you’ve re- sided in the apartment for the required one Delsenia Glover named new or two years. The more paper that connects executive director of Tenants & Neighbors you to the apartment the better. Witnesses can also testify that you occupied the apart- elsenia Glover, a staff member since rent-stabilized tenant association presi- ment with the departing tenant. D2013 of Tenants & Neighbors, a key dents. She has worked professionally in To apply for succession, you must file tenants rights group in New York State, public relations with several NYC firms an application with the housing company has been named Executive Director. She before starting her own consultancy. that manages your Mitchell-Lama building. succeeds Katie Goldstein. Delsinia is also a founder of the Bronx This article is a slightly edited version Among her previous positions, Career & College Preparatory High of a column by Sam Himmelstein, an at- Delsinia was the founder and leader of School in the Bronx. torney for residential and commercial ten- a Central Harlem-based organization of ants, that appeared in Brick Underground. September 2018 Page 7

Comptroller: City has lost Council considers more than 425,400 affordable law to stop false apartments since 2005 renovation permits he City Council is now considering ore than 425,000 affordable cal error, the basic analysis in the report enactment of a law deterring real estate apartments, renting for $900 remains the same. Namely, that the owners from falsifying applications for or less, have been lost in New key factor in the loss of so many afford- T M renovations of buildings with rent-regulated York City since 2005, according to a able units and the increase in barely tenants. False applications are often filed in an new report by City Controller Scott M. affordable apartments is the erosion of effort to drive out those tenants, enabling the Stringer. rent-stabilized units, which lose their owners to charge much higher market rents. At the same time, the report regulated status as soon as a tenant The effort by the Council came in notes, high rent units have soared. vacates--either voluntarily or because response to reports that the Kushner Cos, a Specifically, the number of apartments of being harassed out. During the past business owned by the family of Jared Kush- renting for $2,700 or more jumped by thirteen years, more than 88 thousand ner, a son-in-law and advisor to President 110,000, replacing many lost low-rent such units were so affected, a number Donald Trump, had falsified such applica- units. that is more than the entire addition of tions. These figures are corrected for an new rental housing. A statement released by Aaron Carr, error in the original report, when it was “Behind these [425,000-revised] the executive director of the Housing Rights initially issued. The original claim was lost units," Stringer said, "are count- Initiative said that “The Department of that over a million affordable units had less New Yorkers – families, seniors, Buildings has said they would hold landlords been lost, and that the increase in ex- students and immigrants – who are accountable for falsifying their applications pensive apartments had increased four- working harder than ever to put a roof and now we are going to hold the department fold, rather than two-fold. over their heads." He added that more accountable for enforcing the law and honor- According to the real estate pub- than half of low-income tenants in the ing its promise.” The HRI in a report initially lication The Real Deal, the "mistake city pay more than fifty percent of their exposed the landlords' practice. occurred when a staffer working on the income on rent. A report in the publication Finance and report multiplied a number in a formula All financial data are in infla- Commerce noted that "The city council’s legis- rather than dividing it..." tion-adjusted figures. lation would require the buildings and finance In a statement to the Wall Street The largest contributor to the loss departments to coordinate their information Journal, which broke the story on the of affordable housing was "high-rent to identify false applicants, who would then erroneous data, Stringer’s spokeswoman vacancy deregulation – which occurs be subject to an audit of their entire property Ilana Maier said that, “While it remains when a vacant rent-stabilized apartment portfolio to determine whether any false state- true that affordable housing is declining legally surpasses the threshold amount ments were made elsewhere. The buildings at an unsettling rate and the gap is still of regulated rent." The loss has been department would also audit 25 percent of a growing, we overstated the pace.” slowed, however, by higher thresholds compliance watchlist. False applicants would Notwithstanding the mathemati- for vacancy decontrol. be referred to law enforcement authorities."

Breast cancer and housing: segregation doubles chance of dying for Afro-American women ew York City will undertake a The study was based on a sample of the futures of their children.” three-year, $12.8 million program more than 93,600 women in large urban The pilot program will focus on Nto reduce breast cancer deaths areas throughout the United States. Study four areas: and various pregnancy-related problems participants, who were followed for eight 1) Helping health care providers to among women of color. years, ranged in age from 19 to 91 adopt implicit bias training – the uncon- Announced in July, the program White women living in largely black scious attitudes or stereotypes that can coincides with a new study by the Univer- low-income areas had comparable mor- affect behaviors, decisions and actions in sity of Illinois that found that breast can- tality rates to those of African Americans, their treatment of women of color who are cer incidence and survival rates, especially which suggests that the low-income status pregnant; among African American women, cor- of the neighborhoods--with considerably 2) Supporting private and public relate with various socio-economic char- less access to mammograms and medical hospitals to enhance data tracking and acteristics of the urban neighborhoods in follow-up care--were the key factors in analysis of severe maternal mortality and which the women live. survival, as opposed to color or ethnicity. maternal morbidity; The study found that racial segre- “We are losing far too many moth- 3) Enhancing maternal care at NYC gation and low-income status in numerous ers – especially women of color – to preg- Health + Hospitals’ facilities; urban areas notably increased "African nancy-related complications,” said Mayor 4) Expanding public education in American women's rate of late-stage Bill de Blasio in a release. “That is unac- partnership with community-based orga- diagnosis and doubled their chances of ceptable. This new plan will put our hospi- nizations and residents. dying from breast cancer," according to an tals and healthcare system on track to save analysis of the findings. the lives of mothers and make healthier Page 8 September 2018 Sen. Warren sponsors $500 billion bill to vastly expand housing availability

enator Elizabeth Warren (D, ¶ $10 billion in grants for infra- [which penalizes banks for "redlining," that is, Mass.), who recently announced structure development to local govern- denying mortgage and small business loans to her consideration of a run for the ments that amend their land use rules areas based on their racial or ethnic composi- S tion] and strengthen its sanctions. presidency after the mid-term elec- to allow for the development of more tions, has introduced a broad nation- affordable housing. Finally, it would modify the guidelines al housing bill that "aims to build or ¶ $2 billion in the Indian Hous- for the Housing Choice Voucher program to rehabilitate more than 3 million new ing Block Grant. make it easier for recipients to use their vouch- affordable homes over a period of ten ¶ $4 billion in a new "Mid- ers to secure housing in neighborhoods with years at a cost of nearly a $500 billion dle-Class Housing Emergency Fund," good schools. dollars," according to a summary by the to support the construction of homes New York Housing Conference. in areas where supply is limited, and In a statement announcing the housing prices have increased faster Get out the vote! bill, Sen. Warren said that according to than incomes. "an independent analysis of the legisla- ¶ $2 billion to support borrow- key lesson tion from Mark Zandi, Chief Economist ers whose wealth was destroyed in the of the primaries of non-partisan Moody's Analytics, 2008 financial crisis and who still have the bill [the American Housing and negative equity on their mortgages. Continued from page 1 Economic Mobility Act of 2018] would ¶ $523 million in rural housing istered, voted in the recent elections. build or rehabilitate more than 3 mil- programs. If this surge in Democratic turnout lion units over the next decade and fully ¶ Down payment grants to first- continues into the general elections in No- close the current gap between housing time low-to-moderate income home- vember, Democrats may finally have a chance demand and supply, create 1.5 million buyers in formerly red-lined or official- at controlling the state Senate. new jobs at its peak impact, bring down ly segregated areas. For tenants, cooperators, and afford- rents for lower-income and middle In addition, the bill would able housing advocates in general, such a class families by 10% - saving families amend other key housing laws. It would development would be substantial. Demo- an average of $100 per month - and expand the Fair Housing Act to prohib- crats are far more likely than Republicans to produce no long-term deficit impact." it housing discrimination on the basis heed such popular demands as overturning Highlights of her bill, as present- of sexual orientation, gender identity, the Urstadt law, which prevents the City from ed by the NYHC, follow: marital status, and source of income. enacting rent regulations without the approv- ¶ $445 billion would be invested It would also expand the scope al of the state legislature, which is dominated in the national Housing Trust Fund. of financial institutions covered under by real estate supporters; and ending vacancy ¶ $25 billion in the Capital Mag- the Community Reinvestment Act decontrol and vacancy bonuses, which cause net Fund. rents to soar and serve as incentives for own- ers to harass tenants to vacate. The key, of course, is for residents to HUD rents would soar for most vote. Voter apathy was never a good idea; for the forthcoming November general elections, under Carson's legislative proposal it is downright dangerous.

legislative proposal by Ben Car- extremely poor tenants by raising "min- son, the secretary of the federal imum housing payments for house- Two M-L developments AHousing and Urban Develop- holds with little or no income." ment department to impose higher Carson's justification for impos- agree to long term rents on over four million HUD-assist- ing higher rents--that cutting subsidies ed tenants would raise most of their will likely encourage tenants to start affordability plans rents by up to 33 percent, depending working and thus be able to secure Continued from page 1 on the tenant's circumstances (house- better housing (although most of them ization rates for the next thirty years. hold composition, medical situation, already work, often more than one job As part of the deal, the owners will income, etc.). at a time)--was explained in a HUD contribute six million dollars to the building's An analysis by the Center on Pol- document stating that the goal is to capital reserve fund. They will also deposit an icy and Budget priorities found that the promote "economic opportunity for additional $3.6 million in a fund to be used by proposal, which still needs Congressio- HUD-assisted residents by encouraging the tenants association for their own expenses, nal approval, would "eliminate deduc- self-sufficiency and financial stability, and for building-related expenses. tions that lower rents for households as measured by increasing the propor- with high expenses, such as for medical tion of households who exit HUD-as- costs or child care." At the same time, sisted housing for positive reasons however, the plan would also benefit [emphasis added]."