AA's "Fat Flier" Got Whole Row
Ashley Dupre On Tiger Woods' Babes: "At Least I Kept My Mouth Shut"
Same-Sex Marriage Blame Game Aims at Paterson, Addabbo
Rihanna's Random Airport Search
NYC Students "Die" On 25th Anniversary Of Bhopal Chemical Disaster
Maybe the new black is actually selling huge middle-income housing complexes. The NY Times reports that the 140 acre Starrett City apartment complex in Brooklyn is up for sale. And who's the broker? Why the firm of CB Richard Ellis, which handled the $5.4 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village to Tishman-Speyer. From the NY Times:
The complex, whose owner changed its name in recent years to the more chic-sounding Spring Creek Towers, is the largest federally subsidized rental complex in the country. Its approximately 14,000 residents live in 46 towers surrounded by well-manicured lawns. They have their own schools, churches, synagogues, shopping center, post office and power plant.And the asking price for, as the Times puts it, a tract "relatively far from flashy Manhattan"? Around $1 billion. While most of the apartments at Starrett City are near market level, people are still worried that this sale is yet another sign that middle income families are being priced out of the city.
Since Starrett City is almost totally subsidized, there are some questions about whether or not tenants would be allowed to stay. The Times reports that City Councilman Charles Barron was assured most tenants would be able to stay, but he's going to make sure his constituents don't "get duped or gentrified."
Here's the Times on the creation of Starrett City and an interesting City Journal article about "subsidizing discrimination" there. Last year, the Village Voice looked at the development. And the caiman alligator found in Brooklyn the other day? It was left at Starrett City.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
It seems like a nice place. I read the NYT article and it and "about 90 percent of the tenants get direct federal rent subsidies or other types of government assistance from the city and state".
BTW, something I noticed in the pictures above reminded me about something perplexing I have noticed in many NYC public housing projects - the parking lots. Sometimes there are really nice cars parked at the Gov. Alfred E. Smith houses just north of the Brooklyn Bridge. Now I don't in fact know that the owners of these cars live there or receive government benefits. But it does seem kind of peculiar.
So if you live there, how much do you have to pay for parking? If you get government assistance to pay for your rent, do they consider a car an asset?
It's amazing how many people are still, to this day, living on public assistance...
Absolutely amazing.
jason, perhaps you had hoped that all the poor people had been forced out of NYC already by your trust fund gentrification?
"Brooklyn like it used to be . . . Brooklyn like it never was"
this article has more useful info, mostly from a real-estate perspective, notably:
"Almost all the subsidized units are protected, meaning a new owner will not be able to churn tenants in order to try to create market-rate housing."
the majority of the people living in starrett city
work for a living, they are not on welfare.
I would say they are middle class people.
They pay 30% of their income towards rent, so thats why you see lots of cars in the parking area. this is not a NYC Project. You have Police officers living there, firefighters, teachers,
accountants etc.
I am so sick and tired of people in this country who still live in a fantasy world. I use to live at Spring Creek and was not a subsidized renter! I happen to work for the Federal Gov. and most of my salary at that time went to pay my rent. I also had a car. No, I could not and still cannot afford to live in a mansion but because someone happens to live in a complex like Spring Creek, you fantasy world morons believe rent is being subsidized. Spring Creek was great, except for the destructive teenagers. Everyone wants a nice place to live. Must we all live in the hood if we don't make $100,000 a year? If you've never lived in a housing complex, don't make stupid comments based on what you see on TV!
I'm trying to figure out exactly how many residents are actually receiving assistance for rent in Starrett City. The NY Times does state 90 percent but the Department of Housing and Community Renewal's numbers only add up to 65 percent. Can anyone with personal experience or knowledge about this lend me a guess/suggestions/answer?
I really do not want to upset people that are recieving public assistance. The problem is when you abuse the assistance and don't care to better yourself.
Then we tax payers have to get up every morning and work for our money. Pay ceiling rent in public housing and all that so someone could stay home watching Jerry Springer all day. I remember that I was on welfare temporarily and I understand that people need help but it is ridiculous for someone to be on welfare for four,five some even ten years or their whole life. I lived in brownville, east new york and originally from the bronx. I know the hood and living in the hood, I still got up and went to work. People need to get up off their behinds and get a job. They excepting section 8 application and you have people taht were cracked out living in housing waiting for a application. You know they on welfare looking terrible and they still want more. A person like me probably would be denied but a crack head has section 8 living in a nice apartment. Mean while I'm a family of five in a two bedroom apartment there's no wining. It's crazy but want can we do. I tell you what make the welfare, shelter, crack head go to work no matter what. If they not missing limbs and not suffering from a deadly disease send them to work. Do you know if you a drug addict welfare would pay your rent, give you food stamps and medicaid as long as you keep your self in rehab. Once in a while they would send you away for six weeks. You come back and still don't have to work a day in your life. WOW....
the blacks and russians are all on welfare, its gross, they live their for 300 hundred dollars a month and they have a new car, just like the project lossers. the russians are the worst, they were not even born here. get them out of the united state deport them