Posted by The city’s largest landlord has secured desperately needed financing that could help steer it out of the red.
Under a labyrinthine deal that federal and state lawmakers and city officials raced to complete in less than six months, the landlord, the New York City Housing Authority, will receive about $230 million for rehabilitating 21 developments that have received no subsidies for the past seven years. The money will come from federal stimulus money and public and private sources, and another $75 million from the federal government for the buildings’ annual operating costs.
The 21 developments were built by the city or state and, unlike the city’s 313 other public housing complexes, received no federal financing. In 1998, the state cut off its share of financing for the developments, and in 2003, the city followed suit. To compensate, the public housing authority diverted some money from its federally supported buildings to cover operating and capital costs at the 21 unaided sites, about $1 billion since 1998. This accounted for two-thirds of the agency’s current deficit of about $150 million, officials said.
