At the start of 2015, we learned that new residents of One Riverside Park would get to enjoy "rock climbing walls" and $25 million views while the 55 residents chosen to live in the adjacent 40 Riverside Boulevard would get to enjoy...having affordable apartments. The NY Post checked in with those "poor door" residents this weekend, and learned that not everyone is satisfied with how the arrangement has been shaking out.

"The thing I don't like most is we don’t have the same amenities," said 27-year-old Christina Figueras, a single mother-of-two living in a two-bedroom $1,082/month apartment. Unlike their high-income neighbors though, they have "no dishwashers, doormen or light fixtures in bedrooms and living rooms."

Besides the separate entrances, there are apparently lots of problems getting the building to take their grievances (like broken buzzers and intercoms) seriously. The Post writes:

Renters on the “poor” side — units of which start at $833 for a studio without river views — have access only to a bike-storage closet, an unfinished laundry room and a common space that faces a courtyard they’re not allowed to enter.

Their well-heeled neighbors — in 219 river-view condos starting at $1.3 million — have use of two gyms, a pool, a movie theater, a bowling alley, 24/7 doormen and a lavish lobby with a hand-blown glass chandelier.

They can also traipse around the courtyard, which opens only to the “rich” side of the building.

The money quote in the piece comes via an anonymous resident of the "rich" side, who argued everyone should be happy with what they have: “It’s unfortunate to make it into a class warfare...It’s not us against them." A lot of Post readers seemed to agree with him.

It might seem surprising that the Post, of all places, is pushing the rich/poor angle here, but they were also the outlet who sprung the "poor fences" narrative on their front cover, so wonders never cease! You can also thank them for coining the phrase, "New York-style financial apartheid."

After a strong push to ban "poor doors"—entrances that spare market-rate tenants from being forced to share an entrance with their less fortunate neighbors—ever since the phrase became a part of the affordable housing conversation, the city removed the loophole in the 421-a tax-exemption program in a provision that states "affordable units shall share the same common entrances and common areas as market rate units." However, this building began construction before June 15th, 2015, so it was grandfathered in without having to change anything.

Of course, now that the Real Estate Board of New York has failed to reach an agreement with construction labor unions with regard to 421-a, it's unclear whether that will push politicians toward stronger solutions for providing affordable housing, or if we'll end up with a whole new class (or iteration) of "poor doors."