Moving & Relocation: Affordable Housing Gets A Victory

In the never-ending refrain of "affordable" housing units being carved up and resold as "luxury" condos (which usually involves just slapping a coat of paint on and boosting the asking price by 10x10 power), it's nice to see a break in the trend. In this case, HUD secretary Alphonse Jackson blocking the sale of Starrett City in New York:

Clipper Equity LLC, the real estate company that bid $1.3 billion to buy the 46-tower complex from Starrett City Associates, was told by HUD in a letter last night that the deal would not be approved, a source confirmed.Federal officials decided to stop the sale in part because the price led them to believe the complex could not remain affordable housing for its 14,000 tenants, the source said, reading from the letter.

Among the reasons for putting the hammer down on the deal was a pronounced sticker shock and the shady dealings of the major player in the deal, David Bistricer:

- Even in the hyperactive New York market, the proposed sale of Starrett City caused sticker shock. Jackson noted that in a neighborhood where apartments are valued around $95,000, Clipper Equity offered the equivalent of about $220,000 for each Starrett City unit. Clipper Equity partner David Bistricer already owns 71 other buildings with 8,792 outstanding violations. Since 1998, Bistricer has been under permanent injunction from offering or selling cooperative buildings and apartments - a statewide ban Cuomo said he intends to enforce.

The official HUD statement is here, with more coverage from Bloomberg here.

This is another coda to the housing boom era, in a way. It wouldn't have been so long ago that developments like this would have been rubber-stamped and sent on their way with nary a backward glance. It's nice to see government (particularly THIS government) doing its job and sticking up for the little guy for once.

Those who follow the trends of affordable housing would do well to check out Housing Finance, whose humble blogmistress Martha Bridegam has done a masterful job of chronicling the ups and downs of this sector for as long as I've been blogging here. ;)

Posted at March 2, 2007 06:10 PM

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In the never-ending refrain of "affordable" housing units being carved up and resold as "luxury" condos (which usually involves just slapping a coat of paint on and boosting the asking price by 10x10 power), it's nice to see a break in the trend. In this case, HUD secretary Alphonse Jackson blocking the sale of Starrett City in New York: Clipper Equity LLC, the real estate company that bid $1.3 billion to buy the 46-tower complex from Starrett City Associates, was told by HUD in a letter last night that the deal would not be approved, a source confirmed.Federal officials decided to stop the sale in part because the price led them to believe the complex could not remain affordable housing for its 14,000 tenants, the source said, reading from the letter. Among the reasons for putting the hammer down on the deal was a pronounced sticker shock and the shady dealings of the major player in the deal, David Bistricer: - Even in the hyperactive New York market, the proposed sale of Starrett City caused sticker shock. Jackson noted that in a neighborhood where apartments are valued around $95,000, Clipper Equity offered the equivalent of about $220,000 for each Starrett City unit. Clipper Equity partner David Bistricer already owns 71 other buildings with 8,792 outstanding violations. Since 1998, Bistricer has been under permanent injunction from offering or selling cooperative buildings and apartments - a statewide ban Cuomo said he intends to enforce. The official HUD statement is here, with more coverage from Bloomberg here. This is another coda to the housing boom era, in a way. It wouldn't have been so long ago that developments like this would have been rubber-stamped and sent on their way with nary a backward glance. It's nice to see government (particularly THIS government) doing its job and sticking up for the little guy for once. Those who follow the trends of affordable housing would do well to check out Housing Finance, whose humble blogmistress Martha Bridegam has done a masterful job of chronicling the ups and downs of this sector for as long as I've been blogging here. ;)