The mayor’s “affordable mix”

Many of the largest projects with affordable housing approved under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s watch are in Manhattan, according to data from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The agency counts projects that were approved prior to the de Blasio administration if construction began or if financing to preserve or extend affordability occurred during his tenure. There are five categories for eligible affordable housing tenants with income requirements ranging from “extremely low-income” to “middle-income” — which exceeds $100,000 in some neighborhoods based on the area median income. Here are the five New York City projects with the most apartments overall: 

606 West 57th Street
Hell’s Kitchen
Developer: TF Cornerstone
Total units: 1,028
Affordable units: 258

The developer filed plans for “The Max” in July 2014, calling for a 440-foot tall apartment building. The 258 affordable housing units — offered to those making between 40 percent and 120 percent of the area median income — helped satisfy the affordability requirements of inclusionary housing and 421a.

605 West 42nd Street
Hell’s Kitchen
Developer: Moinian Group
Total units: 1,175
Affordable units: 235

The tower, known as “Sky,” rises more than 600 feet and is designed by the architecture firm Hill West. Moinian filed plans for it in April 2013 and construction was completed in 2017. As part of the 421a tax break, it includes 235 affordable units. According to an application for the first and second rounds of the building’s housing lottery, studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments were offered to tenants making between 40 percent and 120 percent of the area median income.

601 West 29th Street
West Chelsea
Developer: Douglaston Development
Total units: 931
Affordable units: 234

This FX Collaborative-designed project is being built as part of the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program. Douglaston inked a 99-year for the property in 2018 and filed plans for the complex that same year. According to Douglaston’s Jeff Levine, the project doesn’t require subsidies in addition to the 421a tax break, thanks to its location.

43-25 Hunter Street
Hunters Point
Developer: Rockrose Development
Total units: 974
Affordable units: 195

Rockrose filed plans for “the Hayden” in January 2013, according to the Department of Buildings. Designed by SLCE Architects, it is the developer’s largest 80/20 property outside of Manhattan. In 2018, Rockrose received $348 million from the New York State Housing Finance Agency, which has a servicing agreement with Wells Fargo, to refinance the project.

55-75 West End Avenue
Upper West Side
Developer: Brodsky Organization
Total units: 1,000
Affordable units: 50

In 2016, Brodsky made 50 affordable apartments available at this rental project, which was built in 1994. In 2014, the de Blasio administration provided a version of 421a known as 421a(17), which extended the affordability and rent stabilization of the 20 percent of units that were already affordable in the project and required that another 5 percent (50 units) be offered to tenants making 130 percent or less of AMI.