The Williamsburg Community Apartments, the 347-unit affordable housing component of the Edge, have been open for nearly a year now (after several delayed move-ins), which means the bloom is off...and the complaints are on! A Times visit to the affordable rentals at the Edge and Northside Piers reveals that, actually, the affordable rentals don't have much in common with their condo counterparts at all. At the Edge, affordable rents start at $886/month; at Northside Piers, they start at $398/month. And the renters kinda get what they pay for, which means separate entrances with non-luxury lobbies and no access to the amenities at the Edge or Northside Piers. "We joke it’s like the projects," one tenant tells the Times. "It’s just, you see them, they’re right there, in their balconies, their decks and the pool." And yet so far away!
And the envy of how the other half lives goes both ways. One Northside Piers owner anonymously tells the Times she's jealous of the renters, because they didn't pour all their money into a new condo. Maybe someone should set up a condo-rental apartment swap? There'd probably be a lot of takers.
· For Brooklyn Renters, Look But Don't Swim [NYT]
· Williamsburg Community Apartments coverage [Curbed]
· Northside Piers coverage [Curbed]
Loading comments...