IPNTA Newsletters

February 2003

Community Board 1 Supports IPN Tenants’ Fight to Keep Homes Affordable

Community Board 1 unanimously endorsed on January 21st a strongly worded resolution to “preserve IPN as affordable housing for the benefit of current and future generations” of people in the community.

The resolution, earlier adopted by the board’s Tribeca Committee headed by Albert Capsuto, reflected years of effort by IPNTA members to stop an impending buyout of the Mitchell-Lama complex.

An official buyout plan, under which the owner pays off the remaining mortgage and is then released from rent restrictions, has not yet been announced. But IPN’s original owner, Harold Cohn of Duane Street Associates, has reportedly contracted to sell the buildings to real estate mogul Laurence Gluck. The sale must be approved by city and federal agencies.

Gluck has publicly stated his intention to remove IPN from the Mitchell-Lama program and charge market rents.

In Tribeca, as in much of Manhattan, market rents are far beyond the capacity of practically all IPN tenants to pay.

The board’s resolution noted that IPN is economically and ethnically diverse, and “is virtually the only affordable housing that remains in Tribeca.” It also noted Mayor Bloomberg’s publicly expressed “vision” of more affordable housing in lower Manhattan.

While the board has only advisory status, its positions often carry weight with public and elected officials.

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