Extell Development’s Lower East Side project has come under fire for promoting what some residents call “economic segregation.”
Neighbors decried Extell’s decision to split affordable housing and market-rate condos into separate buildings that will stand side by side during a Community Board 3 meeting last night, Curbed reported. Under the plan, a 13-story building at 229 Cherry Street will accommodate 205 below-market units, while a 68-story condo tower will rise at 250 South Street.
Extell president Gary Barnett said that plan is the company’s only option because it was impossible to secure financing for a mixed tower.
Residents also raised concerns about the loss of a Pathmark store that formerly occupied the site and the possibility it would be replaced by an expensive grocer. Barnett said the company had not approached any supermarket operators and listened to the attendees suggestions for a replacement. [Curbed] – Tom DiChristopher
