East Harlem Affordable Housing Under Threat...

Prepared by Regional Plan Association for Manhattan Community Board 11

East Harlem Affordable Housing Under ThreatStrategies for Preserving Rent-Regulated Units

August 2012

2 East Harlem Affordable Housing Under Threat • August 2012

AcknowledgementsThis report was made possible by the gener-ous support of the Citi Foundation and PNC Foundation. It was written and researched by L. Nicolas Ronderos, Economic and Community Development Director, RPA, with support from Fiona Zhu, Associate Planner, GIS, RPA. It was designed by Jeff Ferzoco, Creative and Technology Direc-tor, with Benjamin Oldenburg, Research Associate, Graphic Design, RPA. Additional support was provided by Curtis Doucette, Intern, RPA. We want to thank Manhattan Community Board 11 for its guidance and support in preparing this report.

About RPA Regional Plan Association is America’s oldest and most distinguished independent urban research and advocacy organization. RPA works to improve the economic com-petitiveness, infrastructure, sustainability and quality of life of the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region. A cornerstone of our work is the development of long-range plans and policies to guide the growth of the region. Through our America 2050 program, RPA also provides leadership in the Northeast and across the U.S. on a broad range of transportation and economic-development issues. RPA enjoys broad support from the business, philanthropic, civic and planning communities. For more information, please visit www.rpa.org

Executive SummaryAcross New York City, the availability of affordable housing is in jeopardy. Even with the ambitious efforts of the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg to preserve or create thousands of affordable housing units, rent protections for much of the existing stock will expire in the coming decades. Nowhere is this challenge more apparent than in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighbor-hood, where most residents live in some form of rent-regulated housing. Regional Plan Association has a longstanding interest in enhancing the economic health of East Harlem, from its work in the late 1990s to help the community plan for the eventual building of the Second Avenue subway to its recent efforts with Community Board 11 to develop neighborhood housing strategies.

East Harlem has been the home for successive generations of newcomers to New York City for more than a century. Ital-ians, African-Americans and Puerto Ricans settled there before and after World War II and many still make their home there. More recent immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and other countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa make East Harlem one of the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City.

Affordable housing has always been central to East Harlem’s identity and success. It has one of the highest concentrations of public housing in the city, and a long waiting list of families who want to live in one of the many complexes owned by the New York City Housing Authority. Other rent-regulated housing makes up much of the remainder of its housing stock. Due to the

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expiration of government subsidies, many of East Harlem’s residents are at risk of being priced out of their homes and neighborhood.

This report provides greatly needed information and policy strategies for the East Harlem community to preserve its stock of rent-regulated affordable housing. It represents a collaborative neighborhood revitalization effort between Regional Plan Association and Community Board 11 seek-ing to preserve and strengthen the commu-nity. This is the second report in a series that aims to advance policy strategies to preserve rent-regulated housing in the community through a broad-based coalition of influen-tial local stakeholders. It can provide a model for other neighborhoods facing a similar loss of affordable housing.

By creating baseline data on the number and locations of rent-regulated housing, this report seeks to enable East Harlem residents to slow down the conversion of rent-regu-lated housing into market-rate units by pro-viding the community with viable strategies to persuade decision makers to implement policies, zoning and other changes.

Based on data collected from three sources, RPA estimates that there are approx-imately 40,500 rent-regulated housing units, as follows: 14,700 public housing units, 9,900 rent-stabilized units and 15,900 other rent-regulated units. Rent protections will expire in nearly one-third of the regulated housing units by 2040. Based on previous research and continued policy development, the preservation strategies that would be most appropriate for East Harlem’s different types of housing are as follows:

• Public housing: Promote residents’ stew-ardship and continued participation in development plans and initiatives. While no rent protections are scheduled to expire for these units, maintaining and upgrading the quality of public housing is an important component of an overall preservation strategy.

• Rent-stabilized housing: Coordinate with other advocacy efforts to maintain supply of rent-stabilized housing and provide safety nets for tenant relocation, to make sure tenants continue to live in the community and have legal and finan-cial resources to find new housing. Some deregulation of stabilized housing is inevitable under current New York State law, but the impact can be mitigated to insure that tenants have sufficient legal protection and assistance.

• Other-regulated housing: Work with building owners to promote continued participation in preservation programs or plan for tenant relocations. This calls for a concerted community effort to address potential deregulation by work-ing directly with owners to keep these units regulated and affordable.

• Community Land Trusts: A longer-term strategy to preserve affordable housing is the creation of Community Land Trusts. CLTs typically are nonprofit corpora-tions through which residents of a com-munity gain and maintain control of real estate to protect long-term, sustained affordability. CLTs use a land lease, usually with a 99-year term, to establish affordability and to maintain it even through the transference of property.

Many East Harlem residents are at risk of being priced out of their neighborhood.


RPA collected data from three sources and estimated there are approximately 40,500 rent-regulated housing units.

Building inventory of rent-regulated housing in East Harlem

The need for housing preservation in East Harlem

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

‘93 ‘96 ‘99 ‘02 ‘05 ‘08

Other Regulated

Controlled

Unregulated

Public

Stabilized

Rent Regulation in East Harlem, 1993–2008

Source: New York City Housing Vacancy Survey

Targeting preservation strategies to types of rent-regulated housing

Other 15,900 Units

Total 40,500 Units

Public Housing 14,700 Units

Rent Stabilized 9,900 Units

Source: New York City Housing Authority

Source: Rent Guidelines Board

Source: NYU Furman Center SHIP Database

Unregulated or market-rate housing has increased at a very fast pace over the last two decades, while the number of regulated units remained steady. This is leading to a greater diversity of housing stock and household incomes. However, with no net increase in the amount of rent-regulated units, there is greater pressure to preserve the affordable housing that currently exists. With subsidy restrictions phasing out throughout the city, there is a question whether low- and moder-ate-income households in East Harlem will be priced out not only from their existing community but from other neighborhoods as well. In this context there has been an increase in the share of stabilized units as some public housing units have been taken off the market and new stabilized units have entered it.

Expiration status for 92% of units was identified. By knowing when the units will lose rent-regulated status, we can identify where and when preservation efforts should be targeted.

Through an intensive database synthesis process, RPA acquired and streamlined these three datasets and created a common set of characteristics to describe each building. This effort provides a unique perspective into the housing inventory for a New York City neighborhood that provides building-by-building rent-regulation information.

8% (3,400 units)

Total40,500 units

Undetermined

0.5% (200 units)

11% (4,500 units)2030 - 2040

13% (5,200 units)

6.5% (2,600 units)

25% (9,900 units)

39% (15,900 units)

36% (14,700)Public HousingExpiring

Rent-RegulatedHousing

2010 - 2020

2020 - 2030

2040 and beyond

Rent Stabilized*

*Some rent-stabilized properties are under other regulations that expire. Units on those properties are classified in expiration groups.


2 A

v

1 A

v

5 A

v

FDR

Dr

110 St

E 95 St

E 125 StH

arlem River D

r

W 115 St

W 120 St

W 130 St

3 Av

Br

E 98St

Central Park N

Will

is A

v Br

E 138 St

Mad

ison

Av

E 105 St

5 A

v

FDR D

r

3 A

v

Park

Av

2 A

v

Triborough Br

Randalls Island

JeffersonPark

MarcusGarvey

Park

CentralPark

N

2 A

v

1 A

v

5 A

v

FDR

Dr

110 St

E 95 St

E 125 St

Harlem

River Dr

W 115 St

W 120 St

W 130 St

3 Av

Br

E 98St

Central Park N

Will

is A

v Br

E 138 St

Mad

ison

Av

E 105 St

5 A

v

FDR D

r

3 A

v

Park

Av

2 A

v

Triborough Br

Randalls Island

JeffersonPark

MarcusGarvey

Park

CentralPark

N

Expiring Rent-Regulated Housing UnitsEast Harlem 2011

Inventory Rent-Regulated Housing Buildings East Harlem 2011

Expires 2010 - 2020 Expires 2020 - 2030 Expires 2030 - 2040 Expires 2040 and beyond Undetermined

Public Housing Rent Stabilized Other

Number of Units10 1001,000


To maintain an adequate supply of rent-regulated housing in East Harlem, RPA recommends the following approaches, based on type of housing:

Public housing

➜ Promote residents’ stewardship and continued participation in development plans and initiatives.

Although the 14,700 public-housing units in East Harlem don’t expire, promoting tenant participation in housing stewardship is essential to strengthening the community. Residents in these buildings would benefit from a strong network that can provide long-lasting social and economic links that act as support for cur-rent and future tenants.

• About a third of all the identified rent-regulated apartments are in public-housing projects. Most are larger developments of more than 100 units below 115th Street or along the East River.

Stabilized housing

➜ Coordinate with other advocacy efforts to maintain supply of rent-regulated housing and provide safety nets for tenant relocation, to make sure tenants continue to live in the community and have legal and financial resources to find new housing.

• Most rent-stabilized units are in small buildings scattered throughout the neighborhood. Riverton Square, located between 135th and 138th streets along the East River, has more than 900 units.

Other-regulated housing

➜ Work with building owners to promote continued participation in preservation programs or plan for tenant relocations.

• 2,600 units are going to expire before 2020, most of them north of 120th Street along Lexington Avenue or near 124th Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues. About 36% of units use Project-Based Section 8/Section 236 programs combined for their subsidy.

• 5,200 units will expire between 2020 and 2030. Large develop-ments at 1199 Plaza (1,600 units), Villa Hermosa Apartments and Lakeview Apartments (combined 700 units) and 175 East 96th Street (500 units) will expire in this decade in addition to a significant number of small buildings across East Harlem. About 53% of units are in two programs: J-51 Tax exemption/LIHTC 9%, and Project-Based Section 8/ Section 223 (f)/ J-51 Tax Exemption/ Mitchell-Lama/ Other HDC Mortgage.

• 4,500 units expiring between 2030-2040. Large projects along 106th Street, 97th Street, or along 1st Ave between 99th and 105th streets. 36% of units use the Article 8A Loan Program/ Mitchell-Lama/ Other HDC Mortgage programs combined.

• Only a few projects with 200 units in total will expire after 2040. 44% of them are in Section 202/811/ Project Rental Assistance Contract programs.

East Harlem community-based housing preservation strategy

2 A

v

1 A

v

5 A

v

FDR

Dr

110 St

E 95 St

E 125 St

Harlem

River Dr

W 115 St

W 120 St

W 130 St

3 Av

Br

E 98St

Central Park N

Will

is A

v Br

E 138 St

Mad

ison

Av

E 105 St

5 A

v

FDR D

r

3 A

v

Park

Av

2 A

v

Triborough Br

Randalls Island

JeffersonPark

MarcusGarvey

Park

CentralPark

N

Public and Rent-Stabilized Housing UnitsEast Harlem 2011

Public Housing Rent Stabilized*

* Some rent-stabilized properties are under other regulations that expire. Units on those properties are classified in expiration groups.25%

9,900 units

14,700 units36%



2 A

v

1 A

v

5 A

v

FDR

Dr

110 St

E 95 St

E 125 St

Harlem

River Dr

W 115 St

W 120 St

W 130 St

3 Av

Br

E 98St

Central Park N

Will

is A

v Br

E 138 St

Mad

ison

Av

E 105 St

5 A

v

FDR D

r

3 A

v

Park

Av

2 A

v

Triborough Br

Randalls Island

JeffersonPark

MarcusGarvey

Park

CentralPark

N

2 A

v

1 A

v

5 A

v

FDR

Dr

110 St

E 95 St

E 125 StH

arlem River D

r

W 115 St

W 120 St

W 130 St

3 Av

Br

E 98St

Central Park N

Will

is A

v Br

E 138 St

Mad

ison

Av

E 105 St

5 A

v

FDR D

r

3 A

v

Park

Av

2 A

v

Triborough Br

Randalls Island

JeffersonPark

MarcusGarvey

Park

CentralPark

N

Expiring Rent-Regulated Housing Units, 2010–2020East Harlem 2011


Expires 2020 - 2030 Expires 2010 - 2020

6.5%2,600 units

13%5,200 units





2 A

v

1 A

v

5 A

v

FDR

Dr

110 St

E 95 St

E 125 St

Harlem

River Dr

W 115 St

W 120 St

W 130 St

3 Av

Br

E 98St

Central Park N

Will

is A

v Br

E 138 StM

adis

on A

v

E 105 St

5 A

v

FDR D

r

3 A

v

Park

Av

2 A

v

Triborough Br

Randalls Island

JeffersonPark

MarcusGarvey

Park

CentralPark

N

2 A

v

1 A

v

5 A

v

FDR

Dr

110 St

E 95 St

E 125 St

Harlem

River Dr

W 115 St

W 120 St

W 130 St

3 Av

Br

E 98St

Central Park N

Will

is A

v Br

E 138 St

Mad

ison

Av

E 105 St

5 A

v

FDR D

r

3 A

v

Park

Av

2 A

v

Triborough Br

Randalls Island

JeffersonPark

MarcusGarvey

Park

CentralPark

N


Expiring Rent-Regulated Housing Units, 2040 and beyondEast Harlem 2011

Expires 2030 - 2040 Expires 2040 and beyond

11%4,500 units

0.5%200 units




Community Land Trusts: A Long-Term Preservation StrategyA longer-term strategy to preserve afford-able housing is to create Community Land Trusts. CLTs typically are nonprofit corporations through which residents of a community gain and maintain control of real estate to protect long-term, sustained affordability. CLTs use a land lease, usually with a 99-year term, to establish affordability and to maintain it even through the transference of property. The CLT acquires the land.

The CLT extends a long-term lease that contractually obligates the lessee to main-taining affordability through ownership and transference. CLT’s best practices include:

• providing a variety of tenure options to residents (ownership, rental, coop-erative) to be more equitable;

• pursuing financial alliances with government and engaging government early in the planning process;

• adopting a nonprofit structure to best facilitate a diverse mix of funding sources and roles;

• determining whether the CLT acts as the developer or hires an external developer based on capacity and expertise.

Type of Housing Subsidy Expiration Decade 2010

to 2020

2020 to

2030

2030 to

2040

2040 and

later

Grand Total

421a Tax Exemption, LIHTC 4% 371 371

421a Tax Exemption, LIHTC 4%, Other HDC Mortgage 232 232

Article 8A Loan Program, Mitchell-Lama, Other HDC Mortgage 1,627 1,627

J-51 Tax Exemption, LIHTC 4%, Other HDC Mortgage 78 23 101

J-51 Tax Exemption, LIHTC 9% 1,152 368 51 1,571

J-51 Tax Exemption, LIHTC 9%, Other HDC Mortgage 131 131

J-51 Tax Exemption, LIHTC 9%, Section 221 (d) (3) & (4) with affordability restrictions, Other HDC Mortgage 60 60

LIHTC 4% 707 707

LIHTC 4%, Other HDC Mortgage 204 204

LIHTC 9% 92 234 690 62 1,078

LIHTC 9%, Other HDC Mortgage 522 522

Mitchell-Lama, LIHTC 9%, Rental Assistance Program (RAP) 134 134

Other HUD Insurance without affordability restrictions, Project-Based Section 8 388 388

Other HUD Insurance without affordability restrictions, Project-Based Section 8, Other HDC Mortgage 192 91 283

Other HUD Insurance without affordability restrictions, Project-Based Section 8, Section 221 (d) (3) & (4) with affordability restrictions

157 157

Project-Based Section 8 48 135 183

Project-Based Section 8, J-51 Tax Exemption 177 177

Project-Based Section 8, J-51 Tax Exemption, Section 236 34 34

Project-Based Section 8, Section 202/811 40 40

Project-Based Section 8, Section 202/811, Other HDC Mortgage 125 125

Project-Based Section 8, Section 221 (d) (3) & (4) with affordability restrictions 272 272

Project-Based Section 8, Section 221 (d) (3) & (4) with affordability restrictions, Other HDC Mortgage 60 60

Project-Based Section 8, Section 223 (f) 55 55

Project-Based Section 8, Section 223 (f), J-51 Tax Exemption, Mitchell-Lama, Other HDC Mortgage 1,594 1,594

Project-Based Section 8, Section 236 927 229 1,156

Section 202/811, Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) 229 90 319

Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR), Project-Based Section 8, J-51 Tax Exemption 35 35

Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR), Project-Based Section 8, Rental Supplement Program (Rent Supp) 100 100

Section 236, Mitchell-Lama, Rental Assistance Program (RAP) 446 446

Section 236, Mitchell-Lama, Rental Supplement Program (Rent Supp) 341 341

Grand Total 2,611 5,198 4,491 203 12,503

Regional Plan Association is America’s oldest and most distinguished independent urban research and advocacy organization. RPA works to improve the infrastructure, economic competitiveness and sustainability of the New York- New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region. A cornerstone of our work is the development of long-range plans and policies to guide the growth of the region. Th rough our America 2050 program, RPA also provides leadership in

the Northeast and across the U.S. on a broad range of transportation and economic-development issues. RPA enjoys broad support from the business, philanthropic, civic and planning communities.

For more information about Regional Plan Association, please visit our website, www.rpa.org.

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Vice Chairman, Co-Chairman, New York CommitteeRobert L. Billingsley

Vice Chairman, Co-Chairman, Connecticut CommitteeMichael J. Critelli

Vice Chairman, Co-Chairman, New Jersey CommitteeChristopher J. Daggett*

Vice ChairmanDouglas Durst

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