Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams joined tenants and building workers to announce the first of many investments from the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) capital budgetary cycle, a $250,000 allocation for new boilers in Cadman Towers, a Mitchell-Lama development located in Brooklyn Heights.
The money will go toward replacing boilers that are more than four decades old.
“Mitchell-Lama developments are under attack from systematic neglect and deliberate sabotage by people looking to cash in. Threats include conversion to market-rate housing and a lack of upkeep. We can’t allow the status quo to continue for Mitchell-Lama tenants. These homes have been ladders to the middle class for so many people for so many years. Investments like the one we’re announcing today are important, but we need a long-term solution,” said Adams.
The Mitchell-Lama program, which provides affordable rental and cooperative housing to moderate- and middle-income families, was created through nonpartisan state legislation enacted in 1955 and named for its sponsors – Republican Sen. MacNeil Mitchell and Democratic Assemblyman Alfred Lama.
There are both city-supervised Mitchell-Lama developments and state-supervised Mitchell-Lama developments. The apartments are sold or rented through waiting lists kept by each development. However, many Mitchell-Lama waiting lists are closed because there are already enough applicants to fill expected vacancies.
But Adams said the city and state to take a more hands-on role in preserving these homes for future generations. “We need our lawmakers to be bold and advance the creation of new Mitchell-Lama housing. It’s time to revive this program in a form we can feasibly achieve,” he said.
There are 35 Mitchell-Lama developments throughout Brooklyn, with more than 18,000 units. During his time in office, Adams has pushed to keep these homes affordable and increase transparency in the system’s governance. In 2017, he played an instrumental role in helping the City secure $250 million to prevent 15,000 Mitchell-Lama units from being converted to market-rate. He also created a Mitchell-Lama task force, made up of experts, activists, and tenants to develop strategies on how to advocate for residents.
“When there is an issue regarding subsidized housing in New York, Mitchell-Lamas are often forgotten. We, the residents of Cadman Towers, are so grateful that Borough President Eric Adams is not one of those people,” said Cadman Towers Board President Toba Potosky, noting the program was created to provide quality affordable housing for middle-income New Yorkers like teachers, nurses, city workers, police officers, veterans, and others.
“As these housing complexes reach beyond the 50-year mark, the size and cost of maintaining our housing become greater and greater, challenging our promise to continue to provide quality affordable housing. Through the ongoing support from our elected officials like Borough President Adams, we can continue with our mission to maintain affordability for another 30 years or beyond,” Potosky added.
The announcement came on the heels of a report released by Localize.city finding that Brooklyn had the most buildings with heat and hot water complaints over the past year of any borough, with 11,053 buildings and more than 67,500 complaints.
Overall, between September 2018 and August 2019, about 221,000 heat and hot water complaints were reported to 311 throughout the city. As the colder months approach, Adams said it is essential that all buildings have state-of-the-art heating equipment.
