Work on Sendero Verde in Harlem is Underway

The Real Deal published a story in its January edition about the complexity urban, suburban and rural communities face when delivering affordable housing, including the some of the downsides of community preferences.

In New York City in particular, there are a myriad of challenges, one of which is community preference, which means up to 50 percent of affordable units are earmarked for residents living in close proximity to a new development. Advocates have warned the policy could reduce opportunities for residents from lower-income communities to find affordable housing in middle or higher-income neighborhoods. Now, President Biden’s administration plans to review the policy and align it with President Obama’s 2015 fair housing rule, which required municipalities to show how they are combating exclusionary housing.

Making this kind of change could create more opportunities for residents to move outside of their neighborhoods. However, as Spencer Orkus, managing director and partner at L+M, shared in the article, the challenges of delivering affordable housing cannot be resolved by one policy alone.

Spencer said while there is a need for affordable housing in high-income areas, investment in low-income neighborhoods is equally important, and I agree. This approach simultaneously encourages upward mobility for residents moving into higher-income neighborhoods, and supports low-income community needs, which extend beyond housing.

Projects like Sendero Verde and St. Barnabas Wellness Care and Affordable Housing are prime examples of investing in affordable housing while supporting low-income community needs. Together, these mixed-use projects are bringing hundreds of affordable apartments to the Bronx and Harlem for very low to moderate-income families, as well as the formerly homeless. Additionally, both projects will secure community facilities and spaces for these neighborhoods, including a community center, community garden, daycare, school facility, medical space, retail, and active and passive recreation spaces.

If you haven’t read the article, you can find the link here: https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/bidens-fair-housing-face-off/