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New York

Do families making $173K a year need affordable housing?

Higher Bloomberg-era income limits apply at Gotham’s 250 Ashland Place

A rendering of 250 Ashland in Downtown Brooklyn and David Picket, president of the Gotham Organization
A rendering of 250 Ashland in Downtown Brooklyn and David Picket, president of the Gotham Organization

“Affordable” is relative.

At new affordable buildings such as the Gotham Organization and DT Salazar’s 250 Ashland Place in Downtown Brooklyn, landlords are offering subsidized units for families making relatively high incomes.

Critics say those Bloomberg administration-era standards fail to fulfill the promise of affordability for most families.

At 250 Ashland Place, 33 two- and three-bedroom units will be reserved for families of four making up to $172,600 a year, more than three times the U.S. median family income of $53,657. Only 6 percent of households renting in Brooklyn make that much or more, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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Gotham and DT Salazar’s building “is not providing any meaningful affordability,” the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development’s Benjamin Dulchin told the Journal. “There are a lot of benefits this developer got in return for not enough affordability.”

Not all advocates oppose the high income limits, though.

“I wouldn’t say that on the face of it that is necessarily a bad idea,” the Citizens Housing and Planning Council’s Jerilyn Perine told the Journal. “One could always argue that the needs at every income band is so great.”

The 52-story 250 Ashland Place topped out in September. A total of 282 of its 586 units will be affordable at various levels of income. The building also includes 10,800 square feet of ground floor retail, as well as 8,000 square feet of office space. FXFOWLE Architects designed.

Since taking over, the de Blasio administration has lowered upper income limits for affordable projects, to roughly $142,400 for a family of four, the Journal reported. [WSJ] — Ariel Stulberg

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Affordable HousingFxfowle ArchitectsGotham Organization