Clinton Hill Votes Not To Privatize St. James Place Towers

CLINTON HILL, BROOKLYN — Shareholders of the St. James Place Towers in Clinton Hill voted this week not to privatize the building's rent-controlled apartments. The vote came on the heels of heated discussions about gentrification and retaining affordable housing in a neighborhood where rental prices are skyrocketing.

Clinton Hill's City council member Laurie A. Cumbo, who strongly advocated for a vote against privatization, said she was proud of the vote's outcome.

"The residents of 21 St. James Place in Clinton Hill organized and successfully voted to remain within the Mitchell-Lama Program so that future generations could benefit from this affordable housing program that has been beneficial to families for generations," Cumbo said in a statement. "In a rapidly gentrifying community, this historic vote was a victory for the longtime residents who built this community and it will ensure that they will have a home in the near and long-term future."

There are 326 apartments in the St. James Place towers, and they are all rented out at affordable rates. If the building was privatized, current residents would be able to sell their affordable-rate apartments for a market rate and make a profit. But in the end, the majority of them decided that the movement to keep affordable housing in their neighborhood for future generations was more important.

Photo via Google Maps