Contentious rent-regulation bill stops city builders who get tax breaks from building separate entrances for the rich and the poor
New York City is banning “poor doors” in a move one city official on Monday called a “big win for dignity”.
Thanks to a little talked about provision in New York’s rent-stabilization law, builders who receive a tax break for offering some units to low-income tenants will no longer be allowed to build separate entrances for the rich and the poor.
The controversial two-door rule came to an end after New York City mayor Bill de Blasio inserted a provision into a tax bill that was approved by the New York state senate late last week.
“I think that the state legislature and the city are now doing the right thing in terms of treating people in every socioeconomic group with the same level of respect and dignity,” New York City councilwoman Helen Rosenthal told the Guardian.1
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“Poor doors” may now be banished, but one new Brooklyn development is going a step further by pushing needy tenants into a handful of low-income buildings.
As lawmakers pat themselves on the back for abolishing separate entrances for low-income residents in new buildings that get tax breaks for providing affordable units, the more affluent residents of Greenpoint Landing won’t have to risk rubbing elbows with their less-fortunate neighbors.
That’s because the developers have set aside three of their 10 towers for below-market-rate apartments only.
An already-existing zoning law allows the developer to get around a new provision tucked into the rent-regulation bill passed last week that prevents landlords from segregating tenants based on income, or having separate entrances for residents living in cheaper apartments.
And affordable-housing advocates, who fought to take the poor doors off the hinges, are not happy.2