Beth Hamedrash Hagadol synagogue and Mayor Bill de Blasio (Credit: Howard Zimmerman Architects/Landmarks Preservation Commission and Getty Images)
The city has found another location for senior housing to replace the nursing home lost in the controversial Rivington House deal.
The de Blasio administration plans to subsidize 100 apartments for seniors near the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Synagogue, which was demolished after a fire last year, Politico reported. In 2016, the city selected 30 Pike Street for new senior housing, but subsequently determined that the city-owned site wasn’t development friendly.
According to Bowery Boogie, last year the Chinatown Planning Council Housing Development Fund Company moved forward with plans to expand a senior facility at 50 Norfolk Street onto the neighboring synagogue site. Expanding the planned project to include city-subsidized units allows the mayor to keep his promise to pay at least $16 million to replace the senior housing lost in the Rivington House sale.
In 2015, Allure Group paid the city $16 million to lift restrictions on the deed for the Lower East Side nursing home. The company then turned around and sold the property to investors, including developer Slate Property Group for $116 million. The mayor claimed Allure hid its true intentions and had promised to reposition the home as a for-profit nursing center.
Last week, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that he reached a settlement with the Allure Group, following an investigation into the developer’s practice of closing deed-restricted nursing homes and then converting them into luxury residential properties. As part of the settlement, Allure agreed to open two new nursing homes in Manhattan and Brooklyn. [Politico] — Kathryn Brenzel