EL PAÍS in English | The flip side of New York’s skyline: Crumbling public housing by María Antonia Sánchez-Vallejo Cobo
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New York’s skyline may be dominated by luxury towers, but a hidden crisis looms in its public‑housing sector: nearly one in 20 residents—mostly African‑American and Latino—live in aging NYCHA complexes that are increasingly costly to repair, with some buildings so deteriorated they are slated for demolition. The city’s $1.2 billion plan for four Chelsea projects would replace 17 low‑rise apartments with six new skyscrapers, rehousing current tenants while adding mixed‑rent and premium units, a move backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani but opposed by activists and delayed by lawsuits. The proposal highlights broader challenges: soaring market rents, long waiting lists, limited federal vouchers, and a tentative progressive tax on expensive vacant properties that together underscore the precarious future of New York’s social‑housing system.




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