NEW YORK CITY-The Bloomberg Administration was expected to solicit proposals on Friday from developers interested in leasing parking lots and sports fields next to eight large public housing projects in Manhattan.
The controversial plan that has drawn the ire of some tenant organizations and New York City politicians is aimed at raising money for the city's public housing system.
The land-lease program is the brainchild of John Rhea, NYCHA's chairman, who worked at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. before being appointed in 2009 by Mayor Bloomberg, according to the Wall Street Journal. Rhea estimates the land-lease program could generate between $30 million and $50 million annually from the 99-year leases.
The New York City Housing Authority, like many other public housing agencies across the country, are looking to find new revenue sources to make up for lower federal housing assistance. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development's public-housing capital fund, used by local authorities to repair and upgrade buildings, has decreased in the past 10 years from $2.7 billion to $1.8 billion today. See story in the Wall Street Journal.
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