one of the most ignorant statements that I've ever read on this blog.
"Why Are We Wasting Money on Slum Housing?"
How on earth could anyone consider this "slum housing" ? Please explain for us why you have.
"We shouldn't be encouraging poverty in Albany ..."
How does a project like this, one that allows families to move from squalid code deficient hovels into newly renovated apartments, (if it was serving a low income population), encourage poverty?
Seeing that all who move here will be middle and upper income individuals and families, maybe you'll share with us your abstract reasoning for the statements above and below?
"There is no reason why at least part of the housing stock in Park South could not be turned into middle class or upper class housing."
Park South is entirely devoted to middle and upper income families. Have you read anything at all about this project? (perhaps you've misread my postings, DIA's, the TU and BR articles. Yeah, you must not have, or you would never have made that last statement.)
And it seems you have completely missed the point I was making. Winn will be receiving tax credits designed to encourage developers to provide housing to those of low income, yet no low income family will be able to afford to live there.
The tax credits are meant to offset any loss to the developer that they would suffer by offering appropriately affordable, up-to-code housing to those of low income at below-market rates.
Without those tax credits, there is little incentive for developers to build low income housing.
Most new low income housing incorporates utilizing the Section 8 rent subsidy for their tenants. Tenants participating in this program pay 1/3 of their adjusted income for their shelter costs and the government then pays the landlord the difference between that figure and the actual fair market rent would that the unit would command on the open market. Section 8 also pays for the tenants utilities.
So actually the landlord does receive fair market rent for the unit.
Perhaps you should read up on the purpose of the Low Incom Tax Credits:
http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/ocd/progs/lihc/ocdprgli.htm
