Some Residents Of UES Housing Complex Worried About NYCHA Development Plans
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Residents of an Upper East Side public housing complex are worried about some proposed changes.
The New York City Housing Authority has started notifying residents at the Holmes Towers in Yorkville that a private developer will be building a mixed-income apartment building in the complex.
One of the casualties of the project would be the complex's playground.
Residents Nervous About NYCHA Plans
"I'm sad about that, because the kids in this neighborhood have been using this playground for years," a woman at the playground said. "I grew up in this this neighborhood. ... It's very unfortunate."
Others are concerned about it becoming too crowded.
"A lot of people are saying that it's crowded as it is," one resident said.
"Too many buildings," another resident said.
One man said he's skeptical of the plans "because they said they were going to do one thing, and now right away they're going to make these things, and why pick our buildings?"
The development is all part of the NextGen Neighborhoods initiative that is designed to help raise money for the Housing Authority. Developers get to build private, affordable and market-rate housing on NYCHA land, and the agency then gets some of the rent money for repairs to its buildings, 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported.
NYCHA released a statement saying, "NextGen Neighborhoods is part of a larger vision that includes addressing vital infrastructure repairs in developments citywide, including Holmes. The revenue generated from new development will go back into NYCHA buildings for such repairs. A new playground is expected to be built at Holmes after the new development is complete to better serve residents."
