Two Super Luxury Towers Subsidize Only 23 Affordable Units

An investigation into HUD paperwork and tax documents by DNAinfo uncovered that JDS's 111 West 57th Street and Witkoff's 1 Park Lane will together only contribute about 23 affordable studio apartments to the city. The two developers have paid a combined $28 million to the city in exchange for an additional 57,000-square-feet of development rights. That $28 million will in part subsidize the construction of a $43.3 million affordable housing development at 211 West 28th Street that will be rented to Friends House, a provider of services to AIDS patients, at a cost of $1,159 per apartment. The building will hold 37 300- to 326-square foot units in total. By the math, the developers' contribution breaks down to cover only 23 of those 37 apartments.

Under the arrangement, JDS procured an additional 20,002 square feet of building rights for $9 million, and Witkoff an additional 37,000 for $19 million. In a similar scenario that was uncovered in mid-July, the Independent Budget Office discovered that One57 will only contribute 66 affordable apartments to the city after tax breaks procured through the controversial and dated 421-a program.
· Billionaire's Row Supertall Deal Only Subsidized About 23 Affordable Units [TRD]
· One57's Tax Breaks Led to a Paltry Number of Affordable Units [Curbed]
· All 111 West 57th Street coverage [Curbed]
· All 1 Park Lane / 36 Central Park South coverage [Curbed]