Stuy Town Tenants Bid For Ownership To Keep Complex Affordable

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are aiming to buy their apartments in order to keep the complex affordable.
 
The association representing 25,000 tenants announced Wednesday that it will partner with Brookfield Asset Management to bid for the historic complex on Manhattan's east side.
 
City Councilman Dan Garodnick told 1010 WINS the deal is a smart move for the tenants.

"Sitting back and waiting and watching to see the property go up for another auction simply is not an option for the residents of the community," said Garodnick. "So they felt like now is the right time to take control of their destiny."

If successful, the condominium conversion plan would allow tenants to purchase their apartments at a reasonable price. Rent-stabilized residents who wished to keep renting could do so.

"Putting all the pieces together, making it work in a synchronized and clean way is going to the challenge in the next couple of months but we believe the tenants and their partner in Brookfield will be able to do it," said Garodnick. 
 
The sprawling Manhattan complex of 110 buildings and 11,000 apartments was built after World War II. The apartments were intended as affordable housing for returning veterans.

The complex was bought for $5.4 billion before collapsing to an estimated value of less than $2 billion.

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