City Preserves 243 Affordable East Village Apartments

EAST VILLAGE, NY — One of the largest affordable-housing owners in the country struck a deal with the city to preserve hundreds of Section 8 apartments in the East Village and four other neighborhoods across New York, the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced Wednesday.

The 40-year regulatory agreement will keep 669 units of Section 8 housing from converting to market-rate. LIHC Investment Group secured a tax abatement that puts the new agreement in place for six buildings in some of the city's most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods including Williamsburgs, Harlem and Inwood, said the head of LIHC.

“This deal will preserve existing affordable housing in neighborhoods where it is under the greatest threat,” said LIHC Investment principal Andrew Gendron.

Renters earning less than 80 percent of the area median income, or $75,120 for a family of three, can rest easy at five properties including, 384 East 10th Street and 199 Avenue B in the East Village, 1990 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem, 1640 Amsterdam Avenue in Hamilton Heights, and 10 Post Avenue in Inwood.

The agreement is possible under the city's Article XI incentives, which gives property owners tax exemptions of up to 40 years for developments that are at least two-thirds affordable.

In the East Village, more than 240 apartments will remain affordable for the next four decades including 152 units at 384 East 10th Street and 91 units at 199 Avenue B. The building's co-owners, LIHC and the Center Development Cooperation, will also perform $7 million worth of upgrades such as installing new kitchen appliances, bathroom fixtures, tiling floors and switching out new doors and lighting in all apartments.

The deal was struck as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York plan, which aims to create or preserve 300,000 affordable housing units between 2014 and 2026.

“Preserving the existing affordable housing stock that so many hard-working families depend on is a key pillar of the Mayor’s Housing New York plan," said HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. "Now, more than 650 households across the city can rest assured that, despite rising costs, they can afford to remain in their homes for years to come."

Pictured on the left is the facade of 199 Avenue B, and on the right is 384 East 10th Street. (Photos courtesy of Google maps street view)