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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