HELEN ROSENTHAL

Council Member, District 6

Manhattan

DISTRICT OFFICE
563 COLUMBUS AVENUE, AT 87
TH
STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10024
(212) 873-0282

CITY HALL OFFICE
250 BROADWAY, ROOM 1744
NEW YORK, NY 10007
(212) 788-6975

www.council.nyc.gov

THE COUNCIL
OF
THE CITY OF NEW YORK

CHAIR
Contracts

COMMITTEES
Finance
Housing and Buildings
Cultural Affairs
Community Development
Oversight and Investigations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2014

Contact: Stephanie Buhle
Director of Communications
sbuhle@council.nyc.gov


Council Member Helen Rosenthal Denounces New Poor Door:
1 West End Avenue / 10 Freedom Place


The Mayor's Housing Preservation Commissioner went to extraordinary lengths to
strengthen the affordable housing guarantees for a new building, 1 West End
Avenue / 10 Freedom Place on the Upper West Side. Regrettably, the developer
chose to exploit the affordable housing zoning code of the prior administration, which
allows for a separate entrance for tenants in affordable housing units, commonly
referred to as a "poor door." This building is part of the Riverside Center
development, adjacent to the Riverside South development that is home to two poor
door buildings: one just going up at 40 Riverside Boulevard and one that has already
opened at 315 West 61st Street / 317 West 61st Street / 33 West End Avenue (all
one building).

Council Member Helen Rosenthal was involved in negotiations over the past two
weeks with the Developer, in which the City negotiated financial guarantees for the
affordable housing to remain affordable permanently and for the roof deck and court
yard to be accessible and shared by all tenants. Council Member Rosenthal
released the following statement about the new poor door building:

"As a member of Community Board 7 in 2010, I voted against the Riverside Center
development rezoning where 1 West End Ave/10 Freedom Place and several other
buildings will be built over the next few years. While I applaud the affordable housing
included in the site, I believed at the time, and still believe today that the
development will add substantially to the density of the area without providing
enough infrastructure to support that growth. Exploiting the poor door loophole is not
in the spirit of the extensive community negotiations around this development, and it
is abhorrent.

"The current administration, the Manhattan Borough Presidents Office, and I strove
to negotiate financial guarantees for the permanently affordable housing and shared
use of roof deck and court yard common space at 1 WEA/10 Freedom Place.

"Unfortunately, the inclusionary affordable housing zoning laws negotiated in the
previous administration allow for 'segmented buildings' with separate entrances,
elevator cores, etc. for the market-rate and affordable housing residents.

"At Riverside Center, the Developer exploited a loophole. Now, we have to close it.

"I will continue to work to close the loophole that allows developers to build 'poor
doors.' Until then, we are stuck with the developments that are already in contract
under the 2009 law. I will continue to work with the administration
and these developers to negotiate the best deal possible to foster the economic
integration and diversity that is the foundation for a stable and thriving New York
City.

"It is incumbent upon the city and all its agencies to be hyper-vigilant against the
cynical abuse of our tax dollars, public space, and public support for affordable
housing."

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