STARRETT CITY — State Housing Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen reports that refinancing has been finalized at the 5,881-unit Starrett City housing complex in Brooklyn, the largest publicly assisted affordable housing complex in the nation.

Earlier this year, Gov. David A. Paterson signed legislation — sponsored by Senator John Sampson and Assembly members Inez Barron and Vito Lopez — allowing Starrett City’s owners to refinance. In return, the complex will remain in the Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program, and the owners will provide at least $40 million for capital improvements to existing structures, facilities and apartment interiors.

Said Paterson, “Preserving affordability at Starrett City was a top priority for my administration. Refinancing Starrett will ensure affordable housing for thousands of tenants who live in the vibrant Starrett City community, and will allow the owners to make necessary renovations without causing rents to rise.�

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who said he applauds the efforts of the mayor, governor, state legislators and others, commented, “It is our unrivaled economic and ethnic diversity that defines life in Brooklyn and New York City — and Starrett City is the gold standard of that diversity. I have been proud to stand with tenants, especially former tenant association president Marie Purnell and current president Rebecca Caraballo, advocates and all our public officials in the fight to preserve it.�

Added Senator Chuck Schumer, “The Starrett City tenants, who have been living for far too long under the stress of uncertainty regarding the future of their homes, will be receiving the perfect holiday gift this year, knowing their homes will remain affordable. This could not have been done without the owners, the tenants, federal, state and local government officials all working together toward a common goal. This is a new chapter in the lives of the Starrett City residents and I will continue to work to protect affordable housing across New York.�

The effort has been a two-year process, according to VanAmerongen.

“Today is the culmination of a two-year process to protect tenants, improve the quality of life at Starrett and also provide a framework that we can use to maintain affordable housing at other endangered complexes around the state,� she said.

Two years ago, the proposed sale of Starrett was blocked amid concerns that the purchase price of $1.3 billion was too high to maintain affordability. Since then, VanAmerongen has been working with the owners of Starrett, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the state Housing Finance Agency (HFA) and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to reach an agreement that would be beneficial to the owners as well as to the tenants and ensure that Starrett would remain affordable.

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