From City Limits: Tenant complaints at 38 Sixth Ave. (which tempers ESD claims of "success")

I have an article in City Limits today about 38 Sixth Avenue (B3), which has been subject to numerous complaints from tenants about basic services like hot water and a working front door, and a belated response from landlord Avanath.

Avanath bought the building two years ago from Greenland Forest City Partners, which developed it on a 70/30 basis, with 70% contributed by Greenland USA and 30% by joint-venture partner Forest City Ratner, the project's original developer.

The headline is Despite New Owner’s Promised Upgrades, ‘100% Affordable’ Atlantic Yards Building Endures Hot Water Outages, Broken Door, Even Bees.

Some context

At a meeting last month of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), a lawyer for the parent Empire State Development (ESD) defended the project against criticism from longtime advocacy planner and academic Ron Shiffman, an AY CDC Director, who said the developers "have not delivered for at least 15 years."

Shiffman said he was focusing on the disproportionate amount of middle-income "affordable housing," out of reach of the people who most needed such below-market apartments. (The last four buildings have had only middle-income below-market housing.)

Dorado, however, focused on what's been built.

"I mean, the developers have delivered," he said. "There are a number of residential buildings that gone up as part of the project. And they are tenanted and they are, as far as I know, they've all been successful." 

Well, as described in my article, those who live there might not deem 38 Sixth a success.