If (ACORN-inspired) MHANY aimed to help low- and moderate-income families, well, Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park is an awkward fit

Earlier this year, I looked at MHANY, aka Mutual Housing Association of New York (formerly ACORN Housing), and its marketing of middle-income affordable housing at B4 (Brooklyn Crossing) and B15 (Plank Road), for which the housing group, aimed at those struggling for decent housing, must echo corporate marketing-speak. 

Even more dramatic is the less-than-affordable, income-targeted middle-income housing at The Willoughby, which also involves MHANY.

I took a further look at MHANY's web site. Coupled with articles and a video, that further confirms the awkward fit MHANY has with much (but not all) of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, where a disproportionate percent of the below-market units are aimed at middle-income households.

I'm not privy to MHANY's organizational decisions; it's surely not well-resourced, and it probably can't sit out potential contracts and collaborations involving units not aimed at its core constituency of the underserved. 

As Borough President, Eric Adams, for example, in his recommendations regarding any proposed rezoning project involving income-linked housing, typically invoked MHANY regarding projects in its catchment area. 

As I reported in July 2021, regarding the 840 Atlantic project, Adams recommended:

It is Borough President Adams’ policy for housing non-profits to play a role in maximizing community participation in new affordable housing opportunities. He recognizes that CD 8 is served by several entities, including the Fifth Avenue Committee, IMPACCT Brooklyn and the Mutual Housing Association of New York (MHANY), that are qualified to act as affordable housing administrators and/or marketing agent.

So I'm not casting aspersions so much as pointing out some dissonances, ones exacerbated by the proliferation of "affordable housing" aimed at middle-income households earning six figures, and the requirement to involve nonprofits. 

The organizational mission

MHANY's mission includes:

Increase affordable housing opportunities by identifying and implementing creative housing development initiatives, with a focus on preservation and deep affordability;

Improve the way affordable housing for low and moderate income people is developed and operated

Note that it (understandably) omits middle-income people, who have more options and are less likely to ally with others with the same financial means.

As noted in the excerpt at right from a 2019 article about MHANY, it "primarily serves those facing the most difficult housing situations in New York City," defined at that time as low-income households earning $17,000 - $50,000. 

The income figures are somewhat out of date, given rising Area Median Income, or AMI. In fact, low-"low-income" now extends to households earning up to 80% of AMI, or $106,720 for a family of four. 

That's absurd--and "moderate income" is much higher.

Even "very low-income," up to 50% of AMI, means $66,700 for a four-person household. By contrast, "extremely low-income," up to 30% of AMI, means $40,020 for a four-person household.

That's closer to what MHANY calls "deep affordability."

MHANY's history

As their history page explains, MHANY did important work:

MHANY was born out of an organizing campaign by ACORN NY in the early to mid 1980s in East New York / Brownsville. During the early 1980s in New York, the City had allowed entire neighborhoods to fall into disrepair. Buildings had been widely abandoned and the City wasn’t doing anything to keep them livable.

ACORN was organizing around issues that affected low- and moderate-income people and people of color, and housing was the issue the members wanted to fight for. Then, as well as today, the number one issue was always housing - where am I going to live?

ACORN set out to force the City to address this issue. Members engaged in a squatting campaign where they reclaimed vacant buildings in East New York / Brownsville and put in the work to repair them so they could live in them. Coupled with a broader political and organizing campaign, this tactic eventually helped pressure the City to turn several buildings over to ACORN Housing to manage. Later, ACORN Housing would become what is known as MHANY today.

Today, MHANY’s 2000+ apartments in buildings throughout New York City and New Jersey have become models for what real affordability is, and what real decent living is. And MHANY’s roots in the community continue to grow stronger. Many of our residents are leaders in their neighborhoods, fighting for social change, fighting for better schools, and remaining involved in our housing campaigns so they can help other people access real, quality affordable housing.

Of course the 1980s was a different world, of blight in poorer precincts and pre-gentrification in other ones. 

The numbers

As stated by MHANY:

MHANY Management Inc. (MHANY) owns and manages over 2000 affordable rental units throughout New York City. The core neighborhoods of focus are Eastern/Central Brooklyn, South Bronx and East Harlem. MHANY also co-developed its first project in Paterson, New Jersey in 2009.

So it's understandable that the prospect of the 2,250 Atlantic Yards affordable units--with 60% of them promised (but not delivered) for low- and moderate-income households--would represent a significant institutional step.

That's not an apples-to-apples comparison, because with Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park buildings, as with The Willoughby, MHANY is managing the lottery intake, not managing the housing itself.

The video

It's a powerful and important story that, not surprisingly, omits Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park among the recent buildings for which MHANY takes credit.

At about 8:48 in the video, MHANY leader Ismene Speliotis says, "The idea is that you're building a collection of housing at rents that people can actually afford. Many of our residents are leaders in their neighborhoods, fighting for social change. They're fighting for better schools, they're involved in our housing campaigns, so that other people will get affordable housing. The idea is that they're concentrated in the place, so that they can get together regularly, and kind of collectively continue to make change."

Not long after that, former ACORN head Bertha Lewis says, "Our buildings are models, for what real affordability is, and real decent living is. So that also helps to affect other landlords in the area. So that relationship is tight, because we are community organization with buildings in the community."

Again, that underscores the disconnect between MHANY and Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park.Lewis is a MHANY board member. 

A 2019 article, and a path forward?

According to a Spring 2019 article in Affordable Housing News, WAGING AN UPHILL BATTLE - A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION FIGHTS TO PRESERVE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY, linked from MHANY's Press page, Speliotis said, "We apply our values and work to achieve our mission around deeply affordable housing in everything we do."

They got into Atlantic Yards thinking it would be better than the alternatives, given new towers around Downtown Brooklyn with no affordability. 

And maybe it was. 

However, thanks to governmental overseers giving the project developers a long leash, and developers committed more to their investors than their promises, that goal was significantly stymied.

One thing to keep watch for: will the planned tower(s) at Site 5--resulting from a long-expected effort to transfer bulk from the unbuilt tower set to loom over the arena--be justified by the inclusion of deeply affordable housing? 

(That's one potential outcome from future discussions, and I wouldn't bet against support from the BrooklynSpeaks coalition.)

If so, expect support from MHANY, too.