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Crown Heights, NY – The city is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a month to rent luxury condos in a Crown Heights building for homeless families.
“It’s like a hotel. It’s the nicest place I’ve ever lived in,” said Nelson Delgado, 36, who moved into a swanky two-bedroom, two-bath pad two weeks ago.
“It’s beautiful,” added Delgado, an out-of-work truck driver from Miami who’s living with his son Jeff, 17. “The closet in the main room is so big you could put a twin bed in there.”
Raymond, another resident who moved in more than a week ago with his wife and two young daughters, said he is still trying to get over his good luck.
“When I first saw it, I was like, ‘Damn, everything is brand new,'” said Raymond, who wouldn’t give his last name. “It has marble counters and marble floors in the bathrooms, too. I like the big kitchen. That’s my favorite.”
City officials said the condos – which couldn’t attract buyers in the fizzled housing market – are part of an effort to help an “unprecedented” number of homeless families who have ended up on the street because of the tough economy.
It appears to be the first time a faltering upscale building has found a new purpose as a shelter, said Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York.
Neighbors were furious the 67-unit building on East New York Ave., where apartments were supposed to sell for $250,000 to $350,000, has been turned into a shelter.
“I’m a hardworking taxpayer, and I don’t think homeless people should be living better than me,” fumed Desmond John, 35, a window salesman who wanted to rent one of the fancy apartments. “They said it’s not for rent. It’s a shelter. I was shocked.”
Luxury brokerage firm HQ Marketing Partners started promoting the condos last summer – with the hook that buyers could custom design the units.
When the market started to tank in the fall – and his gamble on a fringe neighborhood didn’t pay off – developer Avi Shriki said he had to come up with a Plan B.
“When the market went south, we knew we had to do something different,” said Shriki, 44. “With the market being the way it is you have to be creative.”
This spring, Shriki signed a 10-year contract with the Bushwick Economic Development Group to turn the building into a homeless shelter.
Shriki wouldn’t say how much he gets paid – but he said he jumped at the chance to get people in his building.
“At least we still own the building and we are paying our mortgage, so that’s good,” said Shriki. “The outcome is not as bad as some people I know who had to surrender the whole building to the bank.”
The city is paying Bushwick Economic Development Corp. $90 a night for each of the apartments, about $2,700 a month – a figure that also covers social services, housing help and job counseling designed to get families back on their feet.
The nonprofit declined to comment.
City officials defended the move, calling it a creative use of a building that otherwise could have become an empty blight.
“This is a case of innovation and outside-the-box thinking that benefits all those involved,” said Department of Homeless Services spokeswoman Heather Janik.
Shelter residents said it’s not their fault they landed in such swanky digs.
“People are saying we don’t deserve to live here,” said an 18-year-old man who gave his name only as “Boss,” who moved into a two-bedroom apartment with his mom last week.
“Just because a person fell out doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a place to stay,” he said.
if we had proper leadership from our “Community” Council (which only cares about themselves & their perks) this would never have happened. There isn’t enough crime in Crown Heights? They have to bring in more lowlives?
Don’t you liberals tell us who have to live next to these bums that homeless doesn’t mean criminal. YOU take them to live next to YOU! Let’s see how YOUR wives and children feel when they go out and are afraid of being accosted. Or YOUR cars are broken into. Or YOUR homes are damaged. The list is endless.
Sure today it’s a hotel. Next week it’ll look like a Crown Heights slum.
As a former New York City social worker, I must say that I find the comments of “Furious in Crown Heights” truly apalling. Some of the loveliest, most hardworking people I have ever met were the homeless families I worked with. For a variety of circumstances, many had fallen upon hard times and lost their livelihood and homes. I would hardly describe them as “low lives”. Certainly, there are exceptions, but many of the homeless are families with children who have no interest in accosting anyone and need help to get back on their feet.
With all due respect, I would never want to have someone like “Furious in Crown Heights” as a neighbor. Sad to see such and angry person with no mention of willingness to help the situation…once again a “not in my neighborhood attitude”, without any suggestions to resolve the problem.
My daughter lives with her 6 kids in a crappy walkup tenement. Why can’t her family get one of these apartments? Oh, they work and pay taxes.
A homeless is still a human being: if he commits a crime brake his bones or call the two shomrims in CH they will know how to handle a criminal. And folks dont worry the 10 year contract that the owner signed with bushwick will be worthless in a short while cause the place will get destroyed very fast
Someone tell me why the City pays $90 PER NIGHT for these apartments on a 10 year contract. The market value in that area is probaly about $1,200 maximum. And even after deducting the social services etc, the City is overpaying by alot of money
And multiply this amount by a year and then for all the aprtments it quite a bit of money.
And if the City pays this money for all the homeless shelters then I know why all the homeless landlords (most of them from our community) become instant millionaires.
Even if the apartments get abused – with a city contract at $90 a nite that equals $2,700 a month and $32,400 per year for each apartment and for the life of the contract its $324,000 – more than it costs to build and develop the apartments.
And with 67 units like this this Landlord is making alot of money.
The City abuses OUR money, believe me the same Landlord would make the same deal for $1,200 a month.
And you think the homeless will want to move out of these dwellings to a regular apartment which is of course the city’s desire? The people of course will stay there in such luxury conditions with the City paying $2,700 a month.
Now you see how the City wastes all our money.
The $2,700 price per month is the standard price the City pays all over for apartments for the homeless. I wish I was a Landlord (who all become rich from these apartments) because renting to a regular person you couldnt get more than $1,000 for these apartments in this area of NY, but the City throws out $2,700 a month.
What a waste of money.
The City pays this price of $2,700 in the Bronx also – and its also a waste of money. In these neighborhoods $900 is the maximum.
The City just wants to enrich the slum landlords.
almost everything the government runs, using our money, stinks.
almost $3000 a month (to sell drugs and prostitution), all paid for by hard-working individuals slaving away to pay their own rent.
giving them brand new expensive apts
So the City pays for these guys $2,700 on apartments (this is the case for all homeless apartments and hotels regardless if they are luxury or not) plus food stamps plus Medicaid plus free schoools (children) and college (adults) & you know why our deficits and taxes are going crazy ……
This is disgusting!! Why couldn’t this landlord have offered to rent to some of the hardworking families in the neighborhood who could do with the extra space, never mind the “marble counters and floors?” If so wonderful, then the landlord should be required to stay in an apartment in this building …
NO wonder the homeless stay homeless — with dwellings like this I’ll move in there anytime and go homeless!!
And the City pays $2,700 for these apartments, I honestly dont believe it, they are not worth more than $1,000 per unit.
Thank you nos. 3, 5, and 6 for showing some reason and decency. When I see a homeless person, I think there but for the grace of G-d go I. Illness, job loss and other disasters could leave any of us homeless.
The citys pay includes alot of other services! None of you know how much goes for the landlord! Chill out guys!
its good that the shomrim command center is on that block
I wonder if thecity bids out the homeless contracts and therefore if they specify luxury apartments? And the lowest bidder was $2,700? Wow.
this is on east new york and Bufalo, the closes jew is on on east new lefferts and troy. this is 5 blocks away. there are no jews living withn a 5 block radius
Thinking outside the box. This is pure communism. plain and simple. get used to it. I feel like a hugh idiot every time I shell out my mortgage payment.
where on East New York ave is this? i dont recognize it. For a sec I thought it was Chasv shalom Drizins condos next door to Lub yeshiva where my precious son attends, I almost had a hearat atttack. And I feel terrible, awful for the poor people who live next to this travesty. I cant believe this is legal. Totally disgusting. I would flip out if this happened to me. I paid a fortune for my house and I would be so engraged if this happened next to me i would riot. How come I never heard of it until now??? Where was the public discussion, town hall meeting etc. I am sure there are plenty of Jews who would rent these apts. Maybe they cant aaffford 2700 a month but still – write the rest off as miser.
I’m so happy for the Yiddishe owners. Finally, somebody is doing OK.
Baruch Hashem.
lets wait a while and see what happens with the maintenance…will it be roach infested, mice, vermin, and graffiteed?
“Bushwick Economic Development Group” is a NON PROFIT … they supply the services that the city feels is worth that amount of $$$$ otherwise the city will pay twice as much for the UNION to provide the service in city buildings … there are hundreds of building like this in the city and they all get the same rate no matter if it is in the bronx , queens , brooklyn or manhatten …
They should be required to work for their free rent ans social services. Let them clean the streets and the parks. Hows about shoveling snow or how about this – I hear Target is hiring. So is walmart – 22,000 jobs. I can understand helpiong someone out for a few months but these become permanent digs.
Our wonderful mayor has money for this nonsense but not for our tax rebate.
The hypocracy of posters here is stunning. Placing public assistance housing under government directive in a neighborhood is disruptive and destructive, but illegally converting a home in a residential neighborhood to a shul is not disruptive and just fine. What about the irony of Haredis complaining about dirt and noise…just priceless