Tahl Propp Equities has discussed buying undeveloped land near Park Avenue and 107th Street from the city so it can develop a $40 million "affordable housing" apartment building, according to an article in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal by Joseph De Avila.
The company, which owns about 3,500 apartments in Harlem, has held "sales discussions with the city's Department Housing Preservation and Development" over the purchase and any sale of public land has to go through the city's land use review project, the article said.
Tahl Propp's push to building more apartments in the neighborhood has raised concern among some neighbors, the article said, who fret about the company increasing its share of Harlem's affordable housing market.
"We are increasingly worried about the rent stabilized buildings being converted to luxury condos," said Emily Goldstein of Tenants and Neighbors, a housing advocacy group, the article said. But Joseph Tahl, president and co-founded of Tahl Propp Equities, described his company as a long-term owner and operator with no interest in forcing out tenants to raise rents, the article said, adding that about 90 percent of the apartments owned by the company are "affordable," meaning rents are below market rates or are subsidized.
The company recently agreed to keep four other of its properties affordable for 20 years in exchange for approval for its latest project from the local community board and City Council member Melissa Mark-Viverito, the article said.
A few years ago, Tahl Propp took one of its apartments at 1900 Lexington Avenue out of the New York State Mitchell-Lama affordable-housing program and tenants feared being replaced by higher-paying tenants. According to the article, Mr. Tahl said most of the resistance to the project stems from that incident and added that that building has remained affordable.
Mr. Tahl said that his company will sign contracts lasting 20 years with the U. S. Department housing and urban Development to keep four additional Harlem apartment buildings in the Section 8 program when the current ones expire. "We tried to bend over backwards to satisfy the needs of the community" he said.
The company, which owns about 3,500 apartments in Harlem, has held "sales discussions with the city's Department Housing Preservation and Development" over the purchase and any sale of public land has to go through the city's land use review project, the article said.
Tahl Propp's push to building more apartments in the neighborhood has raised concern among some neighbors, the article said, who fret about the company increasing its share of Harlem's affordable housing market.
"We are increasingly worried about the rent stabilized buildings being converted to luxury condos," said Emily Goldstein of Tenants and Neighbors, a housing advocacy group, the article said. But Joseph Tahl, president and co-founded of Tahl Propp Equities, described his company as a long-term owner and operator with no interest in forcing out tenants to raise rents, the article said, adding that about 90 percent of the apartments owned by the company are "affordable," meaning rents are below market rates or are subsidized.
The company recently agreed to keep four other of its properties affordable for 20 years in exchange for approval for its latest project from the local community board and City Council member Melissa Mark-Viverito, the article said.
A few years ago, Tahl Propp took one of its apartments at 1900 Lexington Avenue out of the New York State Mitchell-Lama affordable-housing program and tenants feared being replaced by higher-paying tenants. According to the article, Mr. Tahl said most of the resistance to the project stems from that incident and added that that building has remained affordable.
Mr. Tahl said that his company will sign contracts lasting 20 years with the U. S. Department housing and urban Development to keep four additional Harlem apartment buildings in the Section 8 program when the current ones expire. "We tried to bend over backwards to satisfy the needs of the community" he said.
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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