New York City Housing Authority is slowly privatizing its assets. As the New York Daily News reports , the NY is leasing land from various projects throughout the city to high end developers. The first place this occurred, the Chelsea projects in Chelsea, Manhattan, already has finished luxury buildings on former NYCHA land. The developers of the new buildings get tax credits as the buildings are 80/20s. 80/20 means 80% of the units are market rate, and 20% of the units are for low income people.
NYCHA alleges this is to close its 60 million deficit, and alleges that this money will go for repairs of housing projects. But others fear that this is the first stages of privatization of the housing projects. After all, certain projects in the Lower East Side and Chelsea occupy prime land. The city would ultimately be able to get very good deals from them. Chicago simply demolished its housing projects. Throughout the years, NY has been reducing other forms of subsidized housing, such as the Mitchell Lama program. A developer offered NYCHA 1.3 billion dollars for projects near Starrett City, in Brooklyn. More offers will come, as project land continues to be developed.
