Deborah VanAmerongen says DHCR "will do everything we can to extend affordability" of housing on Roosevelt Island, and that ESDC is "not trying to stand in the way of discussions about ongoing affordability."
VanAmerongen heads the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) and chairs the Board of Directors of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), making her a key player – perhaps the key player – in the Island’s housing future, particularly for the remaining Mitchell-Lama buildings – Westview, Island House, and Rivercross.
ESDC, the Empire State Development Corporation, figures in the housing situation as well, having dropped multi-million-dollar tax-equivalency payment (TEP) invoices on those buildings. In saying ESDC is "not trying to stand in the way of discussions about ongoing affordability," VanAmerongen places her agency at the fulcrum of talks about reducing or eliminating the tax bills, which, by themselves, could erase affordability at those buildings.
In an hour-long interview at DHCR’s New York offices early this week, VanAmerongen said the Spitzer administration would like to see the remaining WIRE buildings remain in Mitchell-Lama forever. "I think that is an accurate articulation of this administration’s desires," she said. (WIRE is an acronym for Westview, Island House, Rivercross, and Eastwood; Eastwood has already departed the State’s Mitchell-Lama affordable-housing program.) "Is that what will end up happening? Or is it what will work for the other parties in it? I don’t know. If I had to guess, I would say probably not. We will do everything we can to extend affordability. At the end of the day, we have to bring everyone to the table. There is always compromise in any negotiation... It is going to take some discussion and compromise on everyone’s part to get a resolution on this."
In December, VanAmerongen’s agency invalidated an imminent Rivercross vote on leaving Mitchell-Lama, by ordering cancellation of a building meeting at which a vote was to take place. Although 88% of those who had pre-cast ballots (which translates to 75% of the eligible voters) favored privatization, DHCR essentially banned the voting on the ground that it was characterized as the second of three sequential building votes required in any privatization effort, and that the first vote had been taken over ten years ago. "You can’t really say that it’s a follow-up to the previous vote," VanAmerongen said. "Something that took place ten or eleven years ago can’t really be said to characterize the sense of all the cooperators today." She conceded that the law provides no deadline for taking a second vote, but "If you went to statutory intent, it’s reasonable for us to interpret that the vote should be in some ‘reasonable’ period of time. If you went back to the Legislature and asked them, they would say ten or eleven years is probably too long."
VanAmerongen lamented the way the ESDC tax notice was handled. "I really don’t know how far up the chain it went before it was issued. I don’t think ESDC had affordable housing in mind when they issued the tax bill. They’re not a housing agency. That doesn’t excuse it. I wish that there had been better communication, both with RIOC and DHCR, as well as [with] the buildings before the tax bills were issued. If ESDC is taking the position that they need to preserve their right to claim this money, I could not have stood in the way. But it is better to have more communication up front rather than go forward with something you could expect to [get] a negative reaction. Clearly, I wish it had played out differently."
Members of the Rivercross Board are scheduled to meet with DHCR representatives, including VanAmerongen, on Thursday, January 17. "Since the [tax-equivalency] bills were issued [to owners of Island House, Westview, and Rivercross], we have been able to get attention at the highest levels of ESDC and the Governor’s office," VanAmerongen said. "ESDC has tried to make clear, through issuance of two different pieces of correspondence, that they are open to discussion." An ESDC attorney, in fact, wrote to interested parties offering to "toll" the statute of limitations on the buildings’ right to challenge the tax hike – a legal procedure that would extend the deadline for filing lawsuits opposing the increases. But the offer was only for a 30-day extension, and some legal authorities have expressed doubt that "tolling" would be allowed. At least one attorney close to the situation suggested that a safer procedure would be to file a suit and then agree to a postponement of proceedings for a period of negotiation. Of ESDC, VanAmerongen said, "Their legal counsel has advised that they should not rescind the tax bills. My understanding of what they are saying is that they need to not rescind because it might somehow imply they are not entitled to these monies... They are trying to work with us and with the buildings to resolve the situation."
VanAmerongen said, "The discussion is going to continue. We are trying to figure out what is best. The progress has not been as swift as I would have liked. There are a lot of moving parts. You have the owners’ interest, ESDC, and DHCR as the overseer of the Mitchell-Lama program, [and] RIOC as the leaseholder and as the entity responsible for the General Development Plan [for Roosevelt Island]. It’s not so easy to put something together that answers everyone’s interest. We’ve had some good, productive conversations with the owners and the tenants associations of Island House and Westview, and some conversations with the Rivercross Board as well as their legal representation."
She suggested her sense of a possible time frame by saying, "I’m hopeful that in the next several months we’re able to make more progress."
Other Matters
• On affordable housing in New York City as a whole: "It demands a greater level of creativity and commitment. But we are doing new affordable housing within the five boroughs every year... Almost everything we have done required weaving together various sources of financing. Affordable housing in New York City is difficult because of the lack of available land, the high cost of construction, and a number of other factors that make it more complicated. But it is something we are definitely committed to." She said she would look into whether there might be a way to use the $20 million mortgage pay-off Rivercross made to ESDC over a year ago for affordable housing on Roosevelt Island.
• The Tramway: The decision to upgrade the Tramway to a dual system "was difficult, but [it] was really worthwhile to go through each of the options and do a real cost-benefit analysis. Given the opportunity provided by this large chunk of cash [$15 million in State money originally promised under the Pataki administration], none of us wanted to look back in two or three or five years and say, ‘I wish we had taken advantage of the opportunity when we had it.’ I had to be convinced that we really needed to do a complete overhaul. Eventually, we would end up where we are now, but without those resources [the State funds] to help us do it."
• Main Street retail: "There are parts of the Public Authorities Accountability law that make it more cumbersome for RIOC, but they are the same laws that apply to the Queens West Development Corporation and to the Battery Park City Authority and some other, not dissimilar developments. We have been trying to work with the Attorney General’s office to gain greater flexibility but, clearly, the law was not written with the idea of doing rental leases on Main Street. We have to comply with the law but we are trying to gain some greater flexibility." [The Public Authorities Accountability Act, passed in response to a Pataki administration attempt to give Erie Canal land to a developer at bargain prices, and in response to the MTA’s proposed sale of development rights over the West Side railyards, provides that State authorities like RIOC must get top dollar for the State’s properties, or have a good reason not to do so. This generally entails competitive bidding, requests for proposals, and detailed financial representations – something "mom and pop" merchants are unwilling or unable to do.]
• RIOC staff: "One of the things we are working on for 2008 is professionalism of the staff and an ongoing effort to ensure that we are conducting the affairs of the corporation in an efficient and professional manner." VanAmerongen mentioned Fernando Martinez, RIOC’s Vice President for Operations, pointing out that he came to RIOC with a track record at the Port Authority and the MTA. She said RIOC is looking for a "good solid replacement" for Carla Van De Walle, who has resigned as Chief Financial Officer.