September 5, 2010 · www.gothamgazette.com

Gotham Gazette

Housing
Internet resources for what you need to know on NYC Housing
Favorite Sites For Beginners

The Topic
Housing refers to all dwellings in NYC - from luxury condos with views of the Park to battered in-rem apartments in the South Bronx - and the laws and policy disputes that they produce.
The Context
The percentage of vacant and available housing stock in NYC has never exceeded 4.01%. This extraordinary housing scarcity makes for the highest rents in the US. Unlike citizens of most big American cities, where slightly over half of units are owner-occupied, more than two-thirds of New Yorkers are renters. And - bucking the national trend again - more than two-thirds of New York apartments are rent-regulated in some way. The housing crunch shows no sign of easing up, as new construction is impeded by the highest building costs in the nation. Of the little new construction that does occur in NYC, the vast majority takes advantage of some government subsidy or exemption. Also to note: the city within a city that is New York's 170,000 units of public housing - by far the largest amount of public housing anywhere in America.
The Reporter
Rebecca Webber is a recent graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

by Rebecca Webber

The 30-Year War For New Housing

(aug-sep '00)Like many city neighborhoods hungry for affordable housing, Manhattan's Lower East Side harbors sites ripe for development. But the largest, the city-owned Cooper Square Urban Renewal Area, stood fallow for 31 years as developers, politicians, and members of the community argued over its fate.

Developers dreamed of high profits from market rate housing and retail space. The community board suggested low-income housing. Local politicians sought a plan that would require minimum public funding. Residents, especially those living in a loft building on one of the sites, resisted any proposed change.

In late July, the city announced the development plan that finally won the approval of the Cooper Square Task Force, whose members represent the parties with an interest in the space. By increasing the local supply by more than 600 apartments, the new housing might eventually make it easier for at least some people in the neighborhood to avoid the ever-rising rents that are a result of tight demand.

THE ETERNAL SHORTAGE

New York's housing shortage is a much discussed problem. The Coalition for the Homeless recently released a report, "Housing a Growing City: New York's Bust in Boom Times" that laments the city's sorry state for shelter. The report worried over how future generations will live given the current population trajectory. City planners expect an upsurge of nearly half a million people over the next 20 years.

Population growth has drastically outstripped housing growth, and few vacant apartments are available to shelter the surplus. Over the past two decades, the population of the city increased by 350,000 people, yet the number of rental apartments increased by only 42,000. Over the same time frame, the stock of low and middle income housing declined as subsidies expired and landlords opted out of government housing programs in favor the free market.

WHAT TO DO

During a recent news conference at City Hall, City Council speaker, Peter Vallone said the city currently needs 200,000 apartments to alleviate the shortage that has led to more than half a million New Yorkers paying over half of their income for rent. Vallone, along with former Mayor Edward Koch and Manhattan borough president, C. Virginia Fields, proposed a task force that would help facilitate housing construction, a housing trust fund, and other economic contributions to new housing from budget surpluses and property tax revenues. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani agreed that lack of affordable housing is a problem and more needs to be done.

Housing plans of old, such as the one that created urban renewal sites, have proven too fraught with obstacles that impede progress.

The city owns some 50 urban renewal areas in Manhattan, including Cooper Square, and about 100 total throughout the five boroughs. An area attains this status when the city deems it abandoned and substantially blighted. The areas can then be used for housing development, economic development, or community space. But, as the saga of Cooper Square has shown, formulating a development plan acceptable to all relevant parties can go on for years.

THE CONFLICTS OVER COOPER SQUARE

A private developer, Chrystie Venture Partners, will build the 230 million dollar Cooper Square devlopment on four sites scattered through the neighborhood. On these sites, 618 apartments will bloom. Of these, 155 will be for low-income families. A community center, complete with gym and pool, will arise. And 200,000 square feet of retail space will include a shop-lined pedestrian walkway.

Members of the task force - including representatives from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of City Planning, the community board and community groups - have blessed the proposal. But the decades of negotiation before the compromise reveal the complexity of housing development in New York City.

While many New Yorkers complain often and loudly about the housing shortage, when proposals for new housing arrive, they often find reasons to oppose it. In one instance, residents of upper Morningside Heights long worried about the influx of students from nearby schools pushing old-timers out of their apartments with a willingness to squeeze in together and split higher rents. But when one of the schools, the Manhattan School of Music, submitted plans to build more student housing, residents organized to oppose it on the basis of building height (11 stories) and construction noise.

In Cooper Square, the development project labored through decades of greater woes. The Cooper Square Committee, a community development and tenants' rights organization, proposed a land use plan in 1971. The Nixon moratorium on federal funds for new housing stymied the plan. Later, the city and state fiscal crises proved stumbling blocks. A 1985 revision to the plan couldn't attract the needed government funding.

"It had a lot to do with politics and the market," said Steve Herrick, executive director of the committee.

The task force originated in the 90's at the behest of then-city councilman Antonio Pagan who claimed that there was no consensus among the local constituencies. Although the task force finally arrived at the current compromise, sticking points remain. A proposal for middle-income housing was sacrificed, to the chagrin of some members of the task force.

"There are people who feel that there is too much luxury housing. Sixty-five percent will be market rate and those won't be affordable to those earning less than $70,000 per year," said Herrick. "A lot of people are concerned about what gentrification effect that will have."

But the developer pushed for that percentage so the market rate housing would internally subsidize the low-income residences.

The community board had hoped for more low-income housing. They settled for an 80/20 split in most buildings, as well as one building comprised solely of low-income housing that will remain so indefinitely. The three residents who must relocate under the current plan also opposed the proposals, but were overruled, and were offered a deal to relocate.

"They can't really try to block something that's going to benefit the community as a whole," said Herrick.

IT'S NOT OVER

One official from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development dubbed the thirty-year lag time between the availability of the land and the acceptance of the proposal "shameful, because of the housing shortage." And the battle, he warned, has not been completely won.

The Cooper Square developer must now conquer the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. It involves a lengthy application process and public hearings, but if all goes well, and ground is broken in about a year, the construction will be completed in 2003. Still, Cooper Square fared better than many other urban renewal areas, many of which lost their status after 40 years of inactivity.

Critics have called for a streamlining of the complex and arcane process that impedes development. The pace of housing construction must increase, if the city hopes to shelter its growing population.


Sites For Beginners:

  • City Limits - Investigative reporting about housing and other issues facing New York's low-income communities for 22 years. Archives available to 1996.
  • Cockroach Control Manual - Scientists at the University of Nebraska have written a do-it-yourself guide to cockroach control. The guide's helpful chapters cover techniques such as cutting off roach food supplies, interrupting their life cycles at delicate stages, and even contain helpful species photos to help you figure out just what part of the world your little uninvited guests came from.
  • The Cooperator - Free online magazine for co-op and condo dwellers. Articles on current news affecting co-ops and condos, such as utilities deregulation or indictments of corrupt management companies, change monthly. Includes helpful Q&A sections in which tenant questions are answered by lawyers and accountants, and a reference library of detailed advice on topics such as building finance or selling your unit.
  • Department of Housing Preservation and Development - Straight from the horse's mouth. Info for tenants and landlords, about neighborhood development and tax incentive and abatement programs. Learn how to get on the waiting lists for affordable low- and middle-income housing (for further info on this matter see the Mitchell-Lama page).
  • HomeNet - National online real estate resource that can be narrowed to cover only New York. Includes advice on buying, selling, and renovating your house or condo. Especially useful are the buy or rent and mortgage calculators provided free by Countrywide.
  • Public Housing Spotlight - A project of former and current employees of the Housing Authority, dishes up both proven and rumored dirt on NYCHA. Copies of Spotlight are considered contraband in NYCHA's offices. For the flip side, check out the Housing Authority site.
  • The Rent Guidelines Board - Comprehensive apartment-hunting guide for beginners or old hands. Great links to research and data on NYC housing, including the 1996 Housing and Vacancy Survey.
  • Tenant Net - A comprehensive online resource for tenants. Info on tenants' rights, tips on organizing, and updates on goings-on at Housing Court, the City Council, and the Rent Guidelines Board.


Other Recommendations:

  • The U.S. Census Bureau's 1999 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey - Fascinating and frightening facts about the current state of the city's housing.
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Read a national assessment of the housing situation in U.S. cities. Compare and contrast New York City with other major metropolitan areas.
  • Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums - CNYC's site for co-op and condo dwellers provides many services, including comparative survey information to help boards determine if their buildings are operating efficiently, information about insurance discounts and other perks available to co-operators.
  • The Open Housing Center - OHC gives legal help to tenants who believe they've been discriminated against because of their race, gender, family status, or other characteristics that ought to be irrelevant to the renting process. The site provides a guide to tenants' rights under anti-discrimination laws, a history of the Center's past victories, and contact information.
  • Out of Reach: The Gap Between Housing Costs and Income of Poor People in the United States - Read the National Low-Income Housing Coalition's new report online.
  • NYU Law School Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy - A detailed summary of the NYU Law School Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy's report "Reducing the Cost of New Housing Construction in New York City." Also features links to other research and the Center's programs and events.
  • Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve - HUD and the Urban Institute's new survey of homeless people and the service providers who work with them every day provides an intimate portrait of homelessness across America. Those surveyed revealed that more than 40% of homeless people work at least part time, 39% struggle with mental illness, and about a third of the homeless are now or were once child runaways. Only 8% are panhandlers.
  • Mr. Landlord - The Internet Resource for Landlords and Landladies. This comprehensive site offers a wealth of resources and free advice on do-it-yourself rental property management. Visitors can find help with setting up a webpage for their own rental ads or locating sample rent agreement forms. Its services also include a Q&A interactive discussion among fellow landlords; tax, mortgage and rent calculators; and a free weekly e-newsletter on management techniques.
  • Renting With Pets - This site published by the Humane Society of the United States shows how landlords can improve their business by allowing tenants to keep pets. HSUS suggests sensible rules that landlords can impose on pet-owning tenants, and offers a draft of a pet addendum for an existing rental agreement. The site also has advice for pet-owning would-be renters, including tips on preparing references and a resume for a pet.
  • Realty Times - This archive of free articles from the Realty Times, a realtors' professional publication, offers advice on issues of concern to apartment dwellers. Articles cover many legal concerns such as how to rent with roommates and tenants' rights to minor repairs, plus simple ideas on interior dicor or what to do if neighbors are noisy. The main page, http://realtimes.com, contains links on other residential real estate topics of interest to consumers, including mortgages and "The Truth About Condo Living."

Visit the Topic Archives!