At 535 Carlton, an alarming discovery--and, so far, an unresponsive landlord regarding building security

More than a week ago, residents noticed debris in a little-used top-floor stairwell at 535 Carlton Ave.--the "100% affordable' building that opened in 2017 in Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park--that suggested that someone had been living there for at least several days.

As shown in the tweet excerpted at right, resident Laurie Schoeman, noting that homelessness was at a "crisis point," aimed to alert local media as well as Council Member Crystal Hudson.

Schoeman told me that Hudson contacted the Department of Homeless Services, but it was apparently out of their jurisdiction. (I queried Hudson's office yesterday, and will update with any response.)

Distressing to Schoeman and neighbors, she said, is that Avanath Capital, which bought the building in May, has not made a public statement regarding what happened nor responded to the tenants' association.

She said neighbors in the 298-unit tower still worry that aspects of the building's perimeter are not fully secured, and that management has not been responsive. "The security problem hasn't been solved," she said.

I contacted Avanath's public relations firm Sept. 16, and was told Sept. 19 they'd get back to me as soon as possible. I sent a reminder yesterday, but didn't hear back.  

Still mis-described

Avanath, which oddly classifies 535 Carlton as Barclays II--the other "100% affordable" building it bought, 38 Sixth Ave., is Barclays I--still hasn't fixed the website text that mistakenly refers to 535 Carlton as 38 Sixth, or that describes both as part of "Brooklyn's desirable Pacific Heights" neighborhood. 

I first pointed that out in May. (Pacific Heights is in San Francisco. 535 Carlton is in Prospect Heights, part of the project now known as Pacific Park.)

Avanath seemingly got a bargain, paying $315 million for towers that cost $370.8 million to build. It also erroneously described the towers, which are all rent-stabilized, as including "market-rate" units.

The grain of truth in that is that income-targeted "affordable" units aimed at middle-income households can come pretty close to market-rate, and it looks--based on the rents listed in the excerpts below--that Avanath may ultimately try to maximize rent for units at 165% of Area Median Income. 

That said, the last unit rented there, a two-bedroom, came with one month free, lowering the net effective rent to $2,954 from $3,223.