Personally, I think the block is great. The building will have character (a lot of new developments don’t). I saw the model apartment and it was impressive. It’s around the corner from a Police Service Area (Housing Police Station).

Poster number 3 is convinced it will be shoddy construction and I might suspect that from a fly by night developer who is only working on one building but L&M and Goldman Sachs are behind PS90. L&M has been around for decades and built affordable housing all over the place.

Will the building have problems? Sure. But will it fall apart in 5 or 10 years? I hope not.

It’s a tough decision. But don’t feel pressured into buying it just because you won the lottery.

That said, you can probably get a GREAT DEAL in the South Bronx. And with the Gateway Center Mall and the new Yankee Stadium, it’s almost like the Bronx has a real downtown (I’m from the Bronx originally).

Good Luck. Go with your gut and your heart and your head, but not it that order. Reverse it!

1. The income cap for units at this price is 77-113K annually. (There were a few 205K studios and one 1BR which are now gone. The income cap for those was 57-78K). Maintenance will be at least $600/month. So, for people at the lower end, assuming, say a 5% mortgage interest rate, the mortgage and maintenance alone is almost 50% of gross income. That’s a lot. Seems contrary to the idea of making something “affordable” for certain buyers. Especially when the developers bought the building from the city for one dollar ($1) and are doing everything they can to chintz down the affordable units (e.g., the market rate units have real hardwood floors; the affordable units have carpeting.)

2. There are 20 “affordable” units. The other 74 are priced at market rate:

http://www.halstead.com/developments_search.aspx?numb=68786

But which market?! The 450-800K asking price is about equivalent to another recent condo conversion in the vicinity — the Langston at 68 and Bradhurst — and sales started there in about 2006, if I remember correctly. Maybe half a million dollars for a studio made sense in 2006 (if it ever does), but in 2009? On 148th and FDB? I just don’t see that being a realistic ask and, if the market units don’t sell, won’t the affordable owners not be able to take possession? Isn’t that the way these lotteries work? Or, isn’t there a chance that the unsold market units would be turned into rentals?

These programs work for keeping the middle class in NYC so the city doesn’t have a drain to the suburbs and it cAn keep the tax revenue.

The language of the New York State Alcoholic Beverage Control Law prohibits certain licences from being issued if the establishment is on the same street and within 200 feet of a building being “used exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship…”. To the extent that many churches in Harlem are not used “exclusively” as churches, but also serve other secular functions, these other functions may suffice to permit the issuance of a license.

In addition, exceptions to the rule exist, including, for example, that licences that were issued to an establishment operating in a certain location prior to when a building within 200 feet first began to be used as a church/school, such establishments may continue to renew their licences.

Also, the statute allows a licensee to move a licensed premises that has an exception to another location within 200 feet of the school/church, as long as the new location is not closer than the old location. While this is generally interpreted to mean that the licensed premises may move to a new location within 200 feet of the same school/church, it may be argued that the statute permits the licensee to move to within 200 feet of another school/church as well, since once the original establishment is moved, no further licences may be issued at that location.

What’s the deal? Is that law and that often used excuse valid? How do these business seem to get around that law? Curious because it’s been a heavily used excuse, and by the looks of it, business sell alcohol within 75′ of a church/school with no problem in Harlem. Again, the Den used to be next door sharing the same wall with a Church…