Tempers Flare Over $340M 'Liberty' Funding

NEW YORK CITY-$340 million in federal financing for Lower Manhattan multifamily projects approved yesterday at an unscheduled meeting of the New York State Housing Finance Agency has local watchdog groups baring their teeth. Housing advocates and anti-poverty groups are leveling harsh criticisms against the agency about the projects’ limited number of affordable-housing units.

All three new construction projects, the 293-unit 20 River Terrace in Battery Park City, 264-unit Battery Park City Site 19B and 287-unit 10 Liberty St., will include 95% market rate rental apartments and 5% affordable units. The funding is to be allocated through the Liberty Bond program, which has made $1.6 billion available for New York housing projects.

“I don’t think any taxpayers anticipated these resources would be used to build luxury housing,” says Bettina Damiani, project director for Good Jobs New York. “This is an opportunity to make Lower Manhattan a vibrant community. There are 78,000 New Yorkers out of work since Sept. 11 and the best the state can come up with is 5%? It’s unacceptable.” Damiani notes that most New York City buildings utilizing affordable-housing funds are financed on an 80-20 basis, reserving 20% of their units for lower-income residents.