HUD Preserves Affordable Housing in NYC
Citing a lack of sufficient information that demonstrates their commitment to affordable housing, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson denied Clipper Equity, L.P.’s request to purchase the Starrett City housing development in Brooklyn, New York.
“Today, I’m announcing that I will deny HUD approval of the sale of Starrett City. This department will not stand idly by while a community and its people are unnecessarily placed at risk of losing their homes and way of life. By exercising my authority, I act to protect the people served by this department,” Jackson said at a press conference with officials from New York.
“We must remember the purpose of affordable housing. It is where people live together, grow up together, and grow old together. Starrett City is a community of people…a way of life…a good life that has been the product of thousands of people working and living together in harmony every single day,” added Jackson.
In a letter sent to Clipper Equity, Jackson said the prospective buyer has not provided sufficient information to demonstrate their financial and managerial capabilities for preserving Starrett City as affordable housing on a long-term basis.