The other day I stumbled upon the website for the new Malcolm Shabazz Court apartments being built on 116th Street. As one who is always looking for a better living situation I considered putting in an application. After all, a video intercom, landscaped plaza and dishwasher are a step up from where I live presently. What I failed to do was read the accompanying cover letter first. Had I done so I would have know that they are renting one bedrooms for around $1400 and two bedrooms for $1810. Even without the anticipated yearly rent increases the apartments are way above the comparable offerings just two or three years ago when newly renovated, rent-stabilized apartments were being offered for under $900 a month.
There is nothing unique about the units being offered at Shabazz Court and the developers are not marketing the property as “luxury” apartments, so what gives? We know that the median income in Harlem is well below the U.S. national average, yet the minimum income for these apartments is close to $56K a year.
I asked a friend what she thought about this and she seemed to think that they are intentionally out-pricing Harlem residents. Could she be onto something? After all, I did come across a listing for condos being offered by the Homeworks program for well above the listings just a few years back. Homeworks is the same program mentioned in a post on Monday that sold homes for $250K which are now fetching well over $1 million. The same program is now offering condos in the area extending from 111th Street to 127th Street for prices ranging between $415K to as high as $800K. The minimum income requirements are also well above the typical income of most Harlem residents, starting at $123,617.
Were the subsidies and tax breaks just a foot in the door for developers to take advantage of the property sitting dormant above 96th Street or will this increase somehow trickle down to help low-income Harlem residents pull themselves up? Discuss amongst yourselves.
Related: New York Times
reefinyateef
September 11, 2006
The situation in Harlem is very embarassing. I make a nice salary and it is still a stretch for me to be able to purchase something in the neighborhood. I can only imagine how the average resident feels.
Lovelyday
September 11, 2006
I am a long-time resident of Harlem (family roots on-and-off for the last 100 years) and I just recently, via an NYC HPD lottery, was very fortunate to have purchased a two-family, renovated townhome for about 25% of what it is worth today- and I MEAN I WAS A FORTUNATE LUCKY SISTER! On my modest salary (and I worked 2.5 jobs simutaneaously,m for alomost two years to save the down payment) I would never be able to buy a condo, mich less a house in Harlem.
Also, since I have moverd in, of lately, I have been hearing from many of my friends, who have been trying to purchased in the supposedly-monitored lotteries, have been very unsuccessful. They are residents of the community board and within the advertised income guidelines, they send in their applications and patently, are not being called and cannot even get a status check on their application. In the meanwhile, we see folks from outside the community, just moving right in!
Anonymous
September 11, 2006
I am a long-time resident of Harlem (family roots on-and-off for the last 100 years) and I just recently, via an NYC HPD lottery, was very fortunate to have purchased a two-family, renovated townhome for about 25% of what it is worth today- and I MEAN I WAS A FORTUNATE LUCKY SISTER! On my modest salary (and I worked 2.5 jobs simutaneaously,m for alomost two years to save the down payment) I would never be able to buy a condo, mich less a house in Harlem.
Also, since I have moverd in, of lately, I have been hearing from many of my friends, who have been trying to purchased in the supposedly-monitored lotteries, have been very unsuccessful. They are residents of the community board and within the advertised income guidelines, they send in their applications and patently, are not being called and cannot even get a status check on their application. In the meanwhile, we see folks from outside the community, just moving right in!
Greasy Guide
September 10, 2006
Unless you are making 80-90k plus yearly you are not getting one of these apartments and it’s like that for every new development coming into the harlem area.
Affordable housing doesn’t exist in Harlem anymore. They want all the middle to low income blacks to move out of Harlem and move to the Bronx. It’s a very sad state and there is not much at all we can do about it.
NAT
September 9, 2006
I thought that if the owners of these building get tax abatement’s then they must set aside a number of apartments for Medium Income People.
So put in you application you might get one of those apartments at a reduced rent.