Affordable housing decline leaves some without homes

An affordable housing program in the Bronx is dying off, but tenants, housing advocates and elected officials are doing everything they can to revive the program. Jamie Towers was part of the New York

News 12 Staff

Sep 29, 2007, 11:25 PM

Updated 6,214 days ago

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An affordable housing program in the Bronx is dying off, but tenants, housing advocates and elected officials are doing everything they can to revive the program.
Jamie Towers was part of the New York State Mitchell-Lama Housing Program, a program that created low-cost housing to lower and middle-income tenants decades ago. The concept behind the program has changed in recent years. Tenants of Jamie Towers say people keep moving out of the building due to rent hikes.
Many landlords have paid off their mortgages and gained full ownership of the property. Some are buying out or taking their buildings out of the Mitchell-Lama program, which enables them to raise rents.
Jamie Towers met with the Mitchell-Lama task force to protect themselves from skyrocketing rents and buy-outs. Officials say tenants can play a part in postponing their building from leaving the program by strategizing with tenant leaders, educating residents or hiring a lawyer.