Congressman Edolphus Towns and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez this week both report the successful passage of H.R. 5937, which will enable Starrett City in Brooklyn to remain affordable.
Towns introduced the bill; Velázquez was its co-sponsor.
Starrett City is the largest federally subsidized rental complex in the country with 5,800 units and 14,000 residents. The bill represents an agreement between government agencies and the owners of Starrett to keep the development affordable, and continue to serve the tenant population currently in place. The legislation converts the Section 8 and Rental Assistance Program (RAP) contracts to a project-based Section 8 contract.
“Access to affordable housing is a serious problem for residents in Brooklyn and across America,” said Towns in a published statement. “With the weakening economy and rising gas and food costs, it is urgent now more than ever that we fight to preserve affordable housing for tenants.”
Said Velázquez, in her remarks on the House floor, “I proudly support H.R. 5937 because it addresses the need for affordable housing for thousands of families in Brooklyn. Across our country, low and moderate-income working families are increasingly finding adequate housing to be out of reach. No place is this disparity more apparent than in New York City where one out of every four families spends over 50 percent of their income on rent.”
Towns, Velázquez, Senator Charles Schumer and a host of other officials at federal, state and city levels have been working to preserve Starrett’s affordability since it was put on the auction block in late 2006. After its initial purchase was blocked by HUD and other housing agencies twice last year amid public acrimony, the current owners began working with HUD, the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the state Housing Finance Agency and the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development on a plan that would allow the current owners to sell the property to a preservation purchaser under a pre-agreed framework.
Passed in the House by a wide margin (345-73), the bill creates the conditions necessary for purchasers of Starrett City to secure the long-term financing necessary to purchase the property, therefore allowing them to keep the units affordable.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues.
So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
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