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 MEDIA ALERT

Contact information: Bettina Damiani phone: 212.414.9394 cell: 347.432.0315

GROUPS DEMAND NEW YORK STATE STOPS PROPOSALS TO USE RECONSTRUCTION RESOURCES FOR LUXURY HOUSING IN LOWER MANHATTAN

Community Leaders To Speak Out at Public Hearing Regarding the Proposed Allocation of $215 million of Liberty Bonds

  When: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 at 7:00 pm.

Where: New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) - 641 Lexington Avenue (at 54th Street), 4th floor.

Who: Community members, city planners, tenant leaders and housing advocates will testify at the hearing.

What: The New York State Housing Finance Agency is proposing to finance two projects in Lower Manhattan with Federal, tax-exempt Liberty Bonds. Ninety-five percent of the units are priced at luxury market rates, while 5% of the units are targeted at "moderate-income" families earning approximately $94,000 per year.  This 95% market and 5% non-market split is a major shift from away from New York State HFA standing policy of financing projects with tax-exempt bonds for multi-family projects with 80% market rate units and 20% low income units.  Rents at the two projects range from a subsidized one bedroom for $1,767 to a market rate three bedroom for $6,267.

Why: Community members are outraged that Liberty Bonds, whose specific purpose is to benefit the public, are being allocated to developers that would create housing out of reach for nearly three quarters of New Yorkers.

Background:  In March, President Bush approved $8 billion worth of Private Activity Bonds, a.k.a. Liberty Bonds, for New York City after the September 11th terrorist attacks. New York State has proposed using a significant portion of its $800 million share for residential rental property (the total allocation for residential rental property is $1.6 billion, split evenly between the Governor and the Mayor) to finance two residential buildings in Lower Manhattan, one in Battery Park City and the other in the Financial District. These two proposed projects, the subject of Tuesday's hearing, would be financed with $215 million of tax-exempt Liberty Bonds.  A hearing on New York State HFA's first proposal for $125 million at 20 River Terrace in Battery Park City was held on June 12th.

For additional information, including a report on "Private Activity Bonds: An Opportunity for Public Input?" visit www.reconstructionwatch.net. To learn more about LCAN (Labor Community Advocacy Network), which is organizing the opposition to this plan, visit www.lcan.org.