Plan to rebuild Chelsea-Elliott houses to move forward, NY court rules
A few weeks ago we wrote about the fight over the Chelsea-Elliott housing between 25th and 27th Streets, over on 8/9th Avenues. On the one side is NYCHA (and the mayor), which wants to knock down and renovate the entire housing complex (built all the way back in the 1940s). On the other side is a group of seniors who successfully obtained a temporary restraining order in NY state court, temporarily blocking demolition and reconstruction. Last week, a NY appeals court overturned the TRO, meaning that demolition and reconstruction will go forward. It may even start this year.
As with anything housing-related, this is a really sticky thicket and we have no problem saying right now that we are not informed enough to have an official position. The facts are that the Chelsea-Elliott Houses are comprised of approximately 2k apartments, and according to NYCHA and the developer (called Related, which built Hudson Yards), 94% of residents will be able to stay in their current apartments while new apartments are built. I suppose the new towers will just go up right alongside the old towers, and then the old towers will be demolished. The remaining 6% will be relocated to other NYCHA buildings during the 3-year construction process. A politically difficult piece is that Related plans to turn part of the housing into “mixed income” towers, meaning affordable units alongside “luxury” units. There are also some, let’s say, questions, over whether the developer will make good on its promise to ensure that existing residents get an apartment on the other side of all of this—and at the same rent.
We’ve reached out for comment to both Related, which said that “The NYCHA project is a great project for residents, neighborhood and city,” and the President of the Chelsea-Elliott Houses Tenant Association, who did not respond.
If you have a perspective that you’d like to share, please do so.