The de Blasio administration has made no secret of its desire to end "poor doors" — where developers create separate entrances for the affordable housing tenants and market-rate residents of a building. (The practice is gaining popularity due to the previous administration's changes to the zoning code that allow developers to claim tax breaks for including affordable housing while segregating those tenants into a separate building segment.) In the meantime, however, the city is just going to try and make the situation a little more palatable by forcing the developers to gussy up their poor doors so that they don't seem as much like embarrassing back entrances.
As such, the poor door in Larry Silverstein's and El Ad Properties' Riverside Center tower at 1 West End Avenue will be made of wood, lead into a glassy lobby, and face a park, the Wall Street Journal reports. The tenants of the affordable segment, which is being called 10 Freedom Place, will also have access to a courtyard and roof deck that will be shared with the market-rate condo owners. So, the two entrances, while separate, will also be... equal? Great, problem solved. "I don't think a poor door will ever be palatable. Full stop," Upper West Side councilwoman Helen Rosenthal told the Journal.
The tower is expected to include around 250 market-rate condos and 116 affordable rental units, and will be designed by architect Cesar Pelli.
· A 'Poor Door' on a Planned New York Apartment Tower With Affordable Housing Gets a Makeover [WSJ]
· Poor Door coverage [Curbed]
· 1 West End Avenue coverage [Curbed]
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