WPCNR MR. & MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. By James C. Benerofe. April 6, 2005: Affordable housing is frequently discussed but consistent programs to provide and define it on an on-going basis are, at best, intermittent. There are things that we can do to provide affordable housing that are not being done now. Some of these suggestions may require legislation but others could be implemented immediately. Here are some suggestions.
Dean of White Plains School of Journalism, Jim Benerofe, Co-Anchor of White Plains Week. Photo by Gary Stukes, WPPA-TV
White Plains already has in place a 6% set-aside for new housing or a payment of a fee in lieu for each of the required units. For example, 100 new units would require six of those units to be affordable or a fee paid for each of the units. While this is an okay plan, it could present problems in the future. If the building’s expenses were to increase significantly, it would most likely invite a tax certiorari proceeding.
The argument being that the limited income from the affordable units was not allowing the property owner to get correspondently higher rents on those units. One alternative in the future might be that the City could only accept fee in lieu monies and use that money to directly rent units in that building or other buildings at market rates and lease those units to those who need affordable housing and the City would directly subsidize the difference in rent.
The City might have to set up some kind of housing agency to do this. But, that should not be a terribly difficult process. If this housing agency could also get bonding power, it could raise enough money to buy existing condos or co-ops at market rate or whatever could be negotiated and then rent them at a subsidized level or sell them at a written-down cost. The benefits of these ideas would be that the City would not have to build new units to get affordable units.
The City owns a number of locations, primarily parking lots, where affordable housing could be built over decked out parking. The Waller Avenue parking lot could be decked out and affordable housing built on the top deck. The same thing could be done on Shapham Place next to Dunne’s Pub. Those are two obvious sites. There are probably others.
Leon Silverman, who owns several properties on Mamaroneck Avenue, suggested that we could also build eight story apartment houses on Mamaroneck Avenue with no parking requirement. There are many apartment buildings in White Plains that were built years ago with no parking. On new construction you will save about $20,000 per space. That is a substantial savings and would be a significant factor in creating lower rents or condominium prices.
One other suggestion, and this would require legislation, is to make a certain portion of rent tax deductible.
Note: This column is posted with permission from suburbanstreet.com, and features the pen of White Plains Week Commentator, James Benerofe, a Real Estate expert and commercial property owner in White Plains who has managed properties in the city for forty years.
