Results tagged “1520sedgwick”

NY1 reports that Bronx apartment building 1520 Sedgwick Avenue was sold to a new owner. The address is known as the "Birthplace of Hip-Hop" because DJ Kool Herc first "introduced extended break beats" in the apartment building's rec room back in 1973. Tenants had been trying to preserve its Mitchell-Lama status and keep it affordable by buying it themselves, but the landlord chose developer Mark Karasick to buy the building. Last week, Housing Preservation Department commissioner SHaun Donovan questioned the sale, "It is difficult to understand why the owners would choose to put the affordability of over 100 families’ homes at risk.” DJ Kool Herc himself told NY1, "We have landmark status in our hearts. The fight will continue."

It's been over a year since the NY Times revisited the "Birthplace of Hip-Hop" and noted that the owners of the building were pondering opting out of the Mitchell-Lama program, enabling them to sell the building or charge higher rents on the open market. Now the Times notes that even after a year of protests and raising awareness, the building may not be saved (as some thought it would be back in March). The owners have "notified the Department of Housing Preservation and Development that they intend to cancel the building’s participation in the Mitchell-Lama program by paying off the mortgage, effectively ending the city’s regulatory power over any sale." For now the residents are safe, but plan on hearing DJ Kool Herc make some noise about this.

Some good news in the ongoing saga to save 1520 Sedgwick, better known as the Birthplace of Hip Hop. Today Senator Schumer, who has been lobbying on behalf of the tenants to preserve the building's affordability, announced that "the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development rejected the proposed sale to developer Mark Karasick because current rents could not be sustained if the sale had gone through." The move doesn't insure that the building’s owner won't still opt out of the Mitchell-Lama program, however.

Last year we visited 1520 Sedgwick Avenue's past and uncertain future. The "Birthplace of Hip Hop" was, and still is, in danger of losing its lifeblood when the landlord (BSR Management) announced they wanted to abandon the Mitchell-Lama program. Essentially buying out of the program and leaving the doors open for a rent increase. Then things got worse when BSR made it clear they would be selling the building to a real estate mogul Mark Karasick, which was set to happen next month.