A planned 42-story Upper West Side apartment tower will have a separate entrance for tenants who live in the building’s affordable units.
While activists are against the separate door — commonly known as “the poor door” — developer Larry Silverstein and the city have come to an agreement.
Residents in the seven-story affordable part of the building at 1 West End Avenue will have access to the tower‘s courtyard and roof deck. The separate door will face a public park and will have a lobby with a glass facade. Silverstein’s project will likely have 250 market-rate condos and 116 affordable units, the Wall Street Journal reported.
It’s the first time city officials have been involved in negotiations to integrate the affordable and market-rate apartments in a new development. Officials told the Journal that this project will serve as a model for how the city will handle the separate entrance issue. The de Blasio administration has said it opposes the separate entrances and is working on a law to prohibit them.
A nearby project by Extell Development has received criticism for its use of the “poor door” in recent weeks. [WSJ] — Claire Moses