Thousands of affordable apartments in limbo as 鈥榚ssential鈥� construction shuts down
蜜桃传媒app workers at a site in Manhattan earlier this month.
William Farrington
The construction of thousands of below-market-rate apartments in New York City has been put on ice over coronavirus 鈥� even though the developers are allowed to continue building amid the outbreak, The Post has learned.
While construction on buildings with affordable housing has been deemed 鈥渆ssential鈥� work that may continue under Gov. Andrew Cuomo鈥檚 , developers have opted to halt 28 such projects citywide, according to the city鈥檚 Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
鈥淚 felt that in this environment it was better to err on the side of caution,鈥� L+M Development Partners CEO Ron Moelis told The Post of his decision two weeks ago to halt his company鈥檚 seven current construction projects set to yield more than 1,600 rent-regulated units.
鈥淓ven though there are ways to keep these sites safe, I erred on the side of not putting [workers] at greater health risk, especially as we鈥檙e in the peak of this. We鈥檙e operating in an unknown environment. We鈥檙e trying to do the right thing,鈥� he said of L+M, one of the city鈥檚 major affordable-housing developers.
Two of the company鈥檚 projects set to house low-income and formerly homeless New Yorkers in East Harlem and East New York were nearing completion before the-pandemic hit New York but will now be delayed, said Moelis, adding it鈥檚 tough to with the city鈥檚 deep need for low-income housing.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that there鈥檚 a right answer in this situation,鈥� he said.
The 100-unit Linwood Apartments in East New York will house 30 formerly homeless New Yorkers as well as 70 low-income households, while the East Harlem site will soon have 400 rental apartments for people making at-or-below the New York Metropolitan Area鈥檚 median income.
He also said it鈥檚 unlikely that he鈥檇 opt to start L+M鈥檚 projects back up in short order.
鈥淭he earliest I could see is the end of the month, and that鈥檚 optimistic,鈥� he said.
The construction halt comes after Gov. Cuomo on March 27 put a temporary stop to the building of market-rate housing, as well as hotels, while deeming emergency repairs, some infrastructure projects, and housing developments with at least 20 percent of the building dedicated to affordable housing 鈥渆ssential.鈥�
Still, developers are not required to keep building 鈥渆ssential鈥� projects, officials said.
鈥淭he need for affordable housing is critical, and that need will be even greater on the other side of this pandemic,鈥� said city housing department spokesman Jeremy House. 鈥淒evelopers of essential affordable housing are allowed to continue construction if they choose, but only if they can ensure the safety of construction workers and the public.鈥�
Among the other developers that have chosen to temporarily stop construction are Greenland Forrest City Partners, which is building Pacific Park in Brooklyn, and TF Cornerstone, the developer of Hunter鈥檚 Point South, spokespeople confirmed.
The controversial Pacific Park project is expected to yield 2,250 total below-market-rate apartments over the next five years. TF Cornerstone鈥檚 Long Island City waterfront project will have more than 700 such homes once it鈥檚 completed.
Councilman Brad Lander, who was among the leading voices calling on the state to shut down 鈥渘on-essential鈥� construction, said building low-cost rental apartments will be particularly important in the coming months as the city grapples with an economic downturn.
鈥淲e need to bring more affordable housing units online quickly,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that should be a high priority.鈥�
He added that while ideally every planned low-cost apartment will be completed soon, 鈥測ou鈥檝e got to be safe.鈥�
The majority of affordable-housing developments where ground broke on the construction sites before the coronavirus pandemic have continued on. As of April 3, there were 327 鈥渆ssential鈥� residential projects still being worked on, non-profit news site .
Moses Gates, a housing guru at the Regional Plan Association think tank, said that the ramifications of halting housing construction are minimal 鈥� as long as the break doesn鈥檛 last more than a few months.
鈥淧ausing construction for a month or two is not going to hugely affect the construction timelines and viability of the developments,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are some issues you need to work out with the contractor, the financing, and the city, but nothing that should be that difficult to overcome.鈥�
鈥淏ut if you have to pause a construction site for a year, it starts to become more difficult to restart afterwards.鈥�