#158 Fall 2009

High Stakes Deal Turns Precarious

In 2006, Shelterforce reported on the $5.4 billion sale of two colossal apartment complexes — Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village — on Manhattan’s east side, representing the biggest real […]

In 2006, Shelterforce reported on the $5.4 billion sale of two colossal apartment complexes — Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village — on Manhattan’s east side, representing the biggest real estate deal in U.S. history, as well as an era of loose credit and speculation. The deal was a triumph for the highest bidder, Tishman Speyer Properties, and ushered in an era of insecurity for the residents of the 11,232 apartments (more than half of which are rent regulated) that compose what is considered one of the last remaining middle class enclaves in Manhattan. The sale, residents worried, would continue a citywide erosion of rent regulations.

But now, Tishman is at risk of default, with the 80-acre property having lost more than half its value. Tenants are unlikely to face rent increases or evictions, according to The New York Times, but they could face a protracted period of reduced maintenance.

One other note: the New York State Supreme Court ruled in October that the owners of Stuy Town and Cooper Village had illegally raised rent and deregulated thousands of apartments. According to NYT, A rent-stabilized 2BR is roughly $1,300 a month, whereas the average market-rate two-bedroom apartment there can fetch $3,179.

OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

  • The Painful Impact of the Housing Downturn on Low Income and Minority Families

    November 23, 2009

    The current downturn in housing has seized the markets, pushed home prices down further than any time in generations and has sparked the worst recession since the Great Depression. At the same time, nearly 18 million households are severely burdened with housing costs that consume over half their household incomes. While few have escaped the fury of the recent downturn in housing, tenant, low-income, and particularly minority, households have fared the worst.

  • The Nitpicker’s Guide to Foreclosure Mitigation

    November 23, 2009

    First, it was judges like Justice Arthur M. Schack of the New York Supreme Court, who made waves by tossing foreclosure motions because he found a rising level of errors […]

  • Interview with Xavier de Souza Briggs, Associate Director for General Government Programs at the Office of Management and Budget

    November 23, 2009

    Xavier de Souza Briggs, Associate Director for General Government Programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget has a portfolio that includes HUD, Treasury, Commerce, Justice, Transportation, and Homeland Security departments, as well as the U.S. Postal Service and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. All of these make a direct and profound impact in the community development world.