THE CASH-STARVED Housing Authority plans to raise millions by leasing out some of its underused land to luxury condo developers — and the real estate rush will start in the hottest market in the city, Manhattan.
NYCHA Chairman John Rhea said Monday he wants to rent out vacant land and parking lots to developers to construct market-rate housing with some affordable units, though he declined to say where the properties are.
A source later said the plan would start at 25 projects in Manhattan.
“This is a landmark in the evolution of NYCHA,” Rhea told a crowd of the city’s power elite at a breakfast hosted by the Association for Better New York. “A decade ago, this wouldn’t have been possible because developers would have considered our properties off-limits.”
The plan — which has been talked about for years by both Rhea’s debt-hobbled agency and public officials — would hand developers tax breaks to build both luxury and cheaper units on leased NYCHA land.
Rhea insisted no public housing would be sold off and not a single unit in the agency’s 334 developments would be lost. Instead, NYCHA would rent out vacant plots, parking lots or administrative buildings that currently have no housing.
He also wouldn’t say how much affordable housing developers would be required to build along with the market-rate units that generate the big bucks.
Elected officials cautiously supported the ambitious plan, but insisted the NYCHA tenants and their neighbors need to be kept in the loop.
“Any meaningful proposal to maximize NYCHA’s unused development rights should begin with a transparent public process,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. “Tenants who live in NYCHA housing — those who would be most affected by such changes — need to be given real information about specific plans and, most importantly, a chance to have input into what happens.”
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn — whose district includes mixed-income housing that recently went up on a NYCHA parking lot next to the Elliott-Chelsea Houses — emphasized the need to inform tenants and the community about specifics.
“So, can this work well? Yes, I’ve seen it work well,” Quinn said. “But you have to have the community involved and part of the conversation.” With Erin Durkin
gsmith@nydailynews.com
