Harlem High-Rise For Homeless, Low-Income Families Moves Forward

HARLEM, NY — A plan to replace a medical center in Harlem with supportive housing for people leaving homelessness and low-income families inched closer to reality with Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine's stamp of approval on Wednesday.

The plan, which has been moving through the city's public review process, would bring a nine-story supportive housing development called Hill Top Apartments to 1727 Amsterdam Ave., on the corner of West 146th Street.

Levine approved the plan despite Community Board 9, which rejected the plan on Nov. 20, with a vote of 30-2 with four abstentions, according to city records.

"I have spent years fighting to bring this project to reality because we desperately need the supportive and permanently affordable units it will create," Levine told Patch.

If approved, the complex would have 120 apartments for people leaving homelessness, and 80 apartments at lower-than-average rents for low-income families. Unlike a shelter or transitional housing, all tenants of the building would sign a rent-stabilized lease and get keys to their own apartment.

The tenants in the 80 affordable units would be selected through the city's affordable housing lottery, while the tenants in the 120 supportive units would be patients recommended by the city's public hospital system based on their needs.

Community Board 9 has objected to the hospital picking the residents. In its resolution, the board said that New York City's public hospital system should not be referring clients to supportive units and that most of the supportive housing should be for seniors, families, and young adults who have recently left foster care rather than people with serious mental health or substance use disorders.

Roughly 25 percent of all of the apartments would be set aside for seniors, according to The Emma Bowen Community Service Center, which would be a tenant at the development.

Between the 200 apartments in the building, 68 percent would be studios, 16 percent would be one-bedrooms, 13 percent would be two-bedrooms, and three percent would be three-bedrooms, all with their own kitchens and bathrooms, according to the Community Service Center.

The Bowery Residents’ Committee would facilitate the new development's supportive services for tenants, including case management, medical and behavioral health services, career services, and more. The development would not have on-site addiction treatment.

Some critics of the development say that the neighborhood is oversaturated with supportive housing programs.

"The development is not good for the neighborhood because the neighborhood is oversaturated. I support supportive housing when it’s done right, and this is not being done right, which is why the neighborhood has voted against it," Lisa Edmiston, a member of a group called Concerned Citizens For A Better Harlem, which opposes the development, told Patch. "They can build this in Staten Island or on the Museum Mile."

Levine said he heard his constituents' concerns, but said he approved the development because rents have skyrocketed in Manhattan, and more than 4,000 New Yorkers are sleeping on streets and subways, according to a recent city study.

"New York City is facing an unprecedented housing and homelessness crisis," Levine told Patch. "It is essential that affordable housing projects are made possible in order to combat this crisis."

With the proposal approved by the Manhattan Borough President, it will now land on the desks of the City Planning Commission. If the commission approves of it, it will go to City Council.

A decision by the City Council is final unless the mayor vetoes it.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated the supportive services at the development would be run by The Emma Bowen Community Service Center. While the center would be a tenant at the site, the supportive services would be run by the Bowery Residents’ Committee.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.