Contact: Vic Bach - Community Service Society (212) 614.5492, Bettina Damiani - Good Jobs New York (212) 414.9394

November 13, 2002 (New York, NY) - State officials today approved $215 million worth of Liberty Bonds for two housing developments in Lower Manhattan. This despite concerns from community and elected officials that only 5% of the units will be non-market rate. The approval of these projects set an appalling precedent in spite of Governor Pataki's recent comments that affordable housing should be part of downtown's rebuilding.

"Deliberately excluding poor and most middle-income New Yorkers from these apartments is shameful," said Bettina Damiani a spokeswoman for the Liberty Bond Housing Coalition. "Resources earmarked for New York's rebuilding shouldn't benefit only wealthy developers and high end renters."

Today's decision by the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) gives the New York State Housing Authority (HFA) approval to allocate these bonds with HFA's set aside of 5% of the units as "affordable" for a family earning $94,000 a year. This 95/5 income eligibility is in stark contrast to HFA's current program, where 20% of the units they finance are for tenants with incomes below $35,000 a year and 80% are rented at market rate. The Liberty Bond Housing Coalition has seriously questioned the fact that no units are available to average working New Yorkers including firefighters, police officers and others who participated in the rescue and clean up effort after the World Trade Center attack.

In fact, today's decision to approve HFA's allocation came after PACB member Assembly Speaker Silver tabled the projects at the August board meeting because of concerns from the community about the unfair affordability component. The projects are located at 10 Liberty Street and site 19B in Battery Park City.

Part of $21.5 billion economic revitalization package to help rebuild New York City after the terrorist attacks include $1.6 billion worth of Liberty Bonds (a.k.a., Private Activity Bonds) for residential development to be allocated evenly between the Mayor and the Governor. In addition to the two projects approved today, a $125 million Liberty Bond project at 20 River Terrace was approved at the August PACB meeting. The Mayor has yet to release a plan explaining how he will use the housing portion of Liberty Bonds.

The Liberty Bond Housing Coalition grew out of the Labor Community Advocacy Network (LCAN) a coalition of more than 50 New York City labor unions, community groups, advocacy and research organizations and non-profit service providers that have come together to seek the use of post-September 11th resources to create good jobs and affordable housing as major tools in revitalizing and rebuilding the city.