Co-op Votes To Stay in
Mitchell-Lama Program
By Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
CONEY ISLAND — Although bloggers and residents are saying it isn’t enough, funding in the amount of $21 million has been allocated to the Luna Park Houses, a Mitchell Lama co-op complex in Coney Island.
Elected officials — including Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, State Senator Diane Savino, Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny and Council Member Domenic Recchia — made the announcement Monday, saying the funding commitment would go toward exterior repairs and critical structural improvements needed at the 48-year-old city-administered development.
One resident/blogger said the complex really needs more than $75 million “just to fix the concrete and keep the bricks from falling off the buidings,” claiming that when it was built “the city used tainted concrete for the brick work.”
But the elected officials believe the $21 million is a start, saying the funding, which includes $15 million from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), is reportedly the largest city grant ever given to a Mitchell-Lama.
Nadler said he was committed to working with co-op members, the city and other elected officials to ensure that the structural repairs and improvements are completed.
Additionally, as a condition for receiving the funds, Luna Park’s co-op board agreed to maintain the development’s affordability and remain in the Mitchell-Lama program for at least 20 years, according to Nadler.
“This will ensure the preservation of 1,600 affordable housing units with over 5,000 residents in Brooklyn for years to come,” he said. “I am extremely pleased that Luna Park will remain in the Mitchell-Lama program for 20 years and continue to be an important bastion of affordable housing for residents in my district.”
Markowitz offered his support, as well, to ensure that the complex remains part of the Mitchell-Lama program and receives the improvements its residents deserve.
“Brooklyn is a proud home to everyone from everywhere and we must use every tool there is to ensure it stays that way — and it’s why we must continue to beat the drum and keep up the mantra of ‘affordable forever.’”
Said Recchia, “People who have lived in Brooklyn their whole lives deserve to stay here, and it’s housing like Luna Park that allows that to happen.”
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