The Reality of the Luxury/Affordable Dream!

The main thrust of Eric Adams and Community Board 9 for this development is the luxury plus affordable component. We are currently seeing the results of this great plan:

  1. Getting the middle, moderate and low income people to pay for the building of luxury development for the rich. (626 Flatbush Ave)

  2. The creation of Jim Crow and other separatist practices, i.e. approval by the City for “poor door” entrance. http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/26068025/new-york-approves-poor-door-proposal

  3. Affordable that is not affordable to the community it is being built in.

  4. And just new on the scene: Fighting the affordable component.  For example, in Brooklyn Bridge Park there was a luxury/affordable deal.  The first buildings to go up are the luxury ones, and now the new residents, don’t want the moderate income units to be built, despite the fact they are there because of this deal!

  5. The developers can’t find poor people to fill up their vacancy of affordable units.  66 Rockwell luxury high rise developers stated the people in the neighborhood make too much money despite the fact they are 2 blocks away from the Farragut projects! Our Time Press, August 14-20 pg. 3

  6. According to Our Time Press, The Association for Neighborhood and Housing development have sited another way not to select residents for the affordable units is “800 credit score” requirements.

Now let’s move all that knowledge to Empire Blvd.. One aspect of the affordable/luxury agreement is that the developers can build separate buildings as long as there is affordable development. Most developers can’t do this because of the limited opportunity to purchase multiple land masses but in the case of Empire Blvd., it is possible.  Let’s say Fat Albert’s is one piece of land, which will get those magnificent views of the park, tower over everything else and be an eye sore decades to come and the gas station on Rogers Ave and Empire is the other.


The Developer builds the Fat Albert’s building for the Rich and the gas station two blocks away for the moderate income. In fact, why not make all the buildings that are further from the park for the moderate and low income? 


That concept fits perfectly with the mind-set of the Developers. Didn't the developer who created the “poor door”, back entrance state…  “No one ever said that the goal was full integration of these populations”  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2699325/NYC-gives-green-light-building-apartments-poor-door-tenants-living-affordable-housing.html#ixzz3ANqusH7a


That is the danger!  A real one.  Separation not based upon race any longer but class. And it is already happening! Or even better, now that they are here, the wealthier group, no longer wants the affordable component at all so they go to the Community Board and their elected officials and demand that this component of the agreement be altered.  Is that possible? Anything is possible!  If it wasn’t Brooklyn Heights Park wouldn’t be fighting!


The other fear that is real is that by the time these affordable units are built, the complete character and social/economic demographics of the neighborhood would have changed, as the city watches these landlords, evict tenants, allow DHCR to give a blind side view to the illegal MCI's and other violations.  Thus they will say, we can’t find any poor or moderate income people and they probably won’t because we won’t be here!


There are so many ills being created with the plan, and many fights both within the community

and on local, state and federal levels to address these ills, as the reality of this so call plan to create affordable housing comes to light. Just a developer’s dream, to use tax payer’s money to build luxury housing for the rich! And at the same time remove a large section of the poor and moderate income families out!


No Residential On Empire Blvd.!

Contextualize Empire Blvd.!

Preserve our Affordable Community!

No More Luxury Development in Our Community!