An article in yesterday's edition of The New York Post said that a housing expert maintains there are 100,000 apartments in the city "teetering on the edge" of falling into disrepair as housing values collapse and funds for repair dry up.
"Depending on the way various winds blow," the article continued, "they could fall over," according to Harold Shultz, senior fellow at the Citizens Housing and Planning Council.
"Of New York City's 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, more than one-tenth are facing severe financial distress, says Rafael Cestero, commissioner of the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Of those, more than one-quarter have deteriorated visibly since the beginning of the downturn," the article maintained.
The article noted that according to Real Capital Analytics, "across the country, multifamily mortgages covering 340,000 apartment units and worth an estimated $28.8 billion were delinquent or in foreclosure at the end of 2009 - more than 18 times the sum from two years earlier."
Earlier this month, a Congressional report warned that the deterioration of these properties could bring down the value of the surrounding neighborhoods. In New York, where these troubled investments centered on gentrifying areas of the Bronx and Harlem, advocates worry that the problems could deliver lasting blows to neighborhoods that have long struggled.
In the hopes of rescuing some buildings, New York City has put aside $750 million to help renovate and refinance properties that are under water, the article said, adding that Cestero says he wants to avoid a repeat of the 1970s and 1980s, when financial distress faced by apartment buildings eventually led to the deterioration and abandonment of neighborhoods.
Earlier this month, a judge ordered the foreclosure sale of the 1,232-unit Riverton Houses in Harlem, which drew many black veterans and their families when it was built in the 1940s. Now, residents are worried about what the future holds for their tree-lined community.
The owners of the largest of the city's affordable-housing complexes, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, recently gave up the 11,000-unit property when they couldn't make their mortgage payments.
"Depending on the way various winds blow," the article continued, "they could fall over," according to Harold Shultz, senior fellow at the Citizens Housing and Planning Council.
"Of New York City's 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, more than one-tenth are facing severe financial distress, says Rafael Cestero, commissioner of the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Of those, more than one-quarter have deteriorated visibly since the beginning of the downturn," the article maintained.
The article noted that according to Real Capital Analytics, "across the country, multifamily mortgages covering 340,000 apartment units and worth an estimated $28.8 billion were delinquent or in foreclosure at the end of 2009 - more than 18 times the sum from two years earlier."
Earlier this month, a Congressional report warned that the deterioration of these properties could bring down the value of the surrounding neighborhoods. In New York, where these troubled investments centered on gentrifying areas of the Bronx and Harlem, advocates worry that the problems could deliver lasting blows to neighborhoods that have long struggled.
In the hopes of rescuing some buildings, New York City has put aside $750 million to help renovate and refinance properties that are under water, the article said, adding that Cestero says he wants to avoid a repeat of the 1970s and 1980s, when financial distress faced by apartment buildings eventually led to the deterioration and abandonment of neighborhoods.
Earlier this month, a judge ordered the foreclosure sale of the 1,232-unit Riverton Houses in Harlem, which drew many black veterans and their families when it was built in the 1940s. Now, residents are worried about what the future holds for their tree-lined community.
The owners of the largest of the city's affordable-housing complexes, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, recently gave up the 11,000-unit property when they couldn't make their mortgage payments.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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