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On June 21 Governor Patterson signed the “New Loft Law” into law, and it is generally considered a victory and a testament to the tireless work of Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who sponsored the bill in what is now its third iteration in nearly 30 years. I commend the passage of this law most highly, and for reasons that go beyond the common sense fairness it extends to artists who live and work in industrial buildings.
Following my remarks here is a summary from Smack Mellon gallery of the loft law.
The long embattled Loft law, this week was passed in both houses of the legislature. The next step is approval by the Governor. This legislation will extend Loft Law protections to approximately 300 buildings, or about 3600 additional units that were converted after 1987 for residential purposes. These units are primarily in Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. This legislation protects tenants who lived in a loft for at least 12 consecutive months between the dates of January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009.
The Loft Law was originally enacted in 1982 following an increase in the number of non-residential buildings that were being converted wholly or partially to residential use. These buildings all lacked compliance with laws governing zoning, housing maintenance, health, safety and fire protection standards applicable to residential occupants. Tenants were also subject to arbitrary evictions and unfair rent increases.
Assemblyman Joseph Lentol—who was quoted in a story published in the Greenpoint Star, yesterday, issued a press release today, regarding the NYC Housing Preservation & Development’s financial projections of CPC’s Domino development—making his opinions even more clear. Read on.
Statement from Assemblyman Lentol: Examining the CPC Domino Refinery HPD Waterfront Analysis Numbers
This document, which says that back in 2006 it was possible for CPC to make close to half a billion dollars without even considering or accounting for the commercial or office space was hardly a shock to me. It is what we, in the community, have been saying for years, that there is no way that they are only just barely covering their costs. I have said it over and over again. And when Domino gives me the same answer, that this plan with this height and this density is the only way to make the project work I have asked for them to show me the numbers and explain why that is. All I have asked for is transparency to prove why this height and density and impact is necessary to cover the cost of affordable housing and historical preservation and I have gotten a broken record and no transparency in return. Much less any reason why this they need to impact our city infrastructure in such a negative way without giving back. Now we know why: this project does not have to be nearly this high or this dense in order to cover the affordable housing be transparent with us!
Despite the Mayor’s claim of creating large amounts of affordable housing since he took office, we have more homeless families in our shelter system than ever before with over 16,000 homeless children. (See Coalition for the Homeless charts.) Could the reason be that most displaced families cannot afford the so-called affordable housing that the city claims protects low-income residents?
“In Kings County, the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,313. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities, without paying more than 30% of income on housing, a household must earn $4,377 monthly or $52,520 annually. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into a Hourly Wage of $25.25. ?In Kings County, a minimum-wage worker earns an hourly wage of $7.15. In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment, a minimum wage earner must work 141 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or, a household must include 3.5 minimum wage earner(s) working 40 hours per week year-round in order to make the two bedroom FMR affordable.?In Kings County, the estimated mean (average) wage for a renter is $15.45 an hour. In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment at this wage, a renter must work 65 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or, working 40 hours per week year-round, a household must include 1.6 worker(s) earning the mean renter wage in order to make the two-bedroom FMR affordable.”
“Monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for an individual are $761 in Kings County. If SSI represents an individual’s sole source of income, $228 in monthly rent is affordable, while the FMR for a one-bedroom is $1,180.”
Local resident Shannon Manning snapped photos of a scaffold collapse that occurred at a construction site on Roebling St, between North 10th and 11th, on Monday, July 27. She reports that the scaffolding has since been pulled away from the building: “At one point,” she says, “the workers were attempting to pull it down using ropes, employing an unconventional and comical lasso technique!”
A union contractor, who is also a neighbor of Manning’s, informed her that the site is non-union with numerous violations, and that he had filed complaints regarding the scaffolding which he could tell was improperly secured. He even went as far as alerting the head of the Dept of Buildings. No action was ever taken until the collapse. Both the DOB and the NYC fire fighters arrived at the scene. NYFD stood at the sidelines says Manning, “I guess there are limits to what the NYFD can do.” 
This shot, on other side of the building, bears the name of the scaffold company: Stoneledge.