By Lloyd Reid for EastNewYork.com
In New York City outdoor space of any kind is important for tenants living in large buildings, whether the buildings are private, or city owned. Recently NYCHA tenants in East New York’s Linden Houses put up a fight, with the support of Assemblywoman Nikki Lucas, to keep their outdoor space. The developers who now manage Linden Houses had plans to do away with the outdoor space throughout the development, until Assemblywoman Lucas informed them that the tenants were unhappy with the plan.
Assemblywoman Nikki Lucas stated, “outdoor space in large buildings is important when it comes to quality of life. Developers who are building downtown Brooklyn and throughout New York City push outdoor space as part of the value proposition for residents. If outdoor space has value downtown, then management should understand that outdoor space also has value for residents in East New York. I spoke to a NYCHA executive and explained that the tenants want to keep their outdoor space and to be a part of the decision-making process regarding the options that exist for the terraces.”
Linden Houses tenant, Carol Barnes stated, “If the terraces are removed, we would lose one of the main aspects of the development that allows Linden Houses to stand out from other developments in the area. The problem is that NYCHA dropped the ball on upkeep of the terraces.”
There are terraces on each floor within Linden Houses, which allows tenants the opportunity to have access to outdoor space without leaving their floor.
Carol Barnes added, “we have many residents who are either disabled, seniors or very young. The terraces work well when we want air or sunlight, without the need to go out of the building. While we want the terraces to remain, it’s up to the tenants to make sure the terraces are not used as a location for storage.”
Assemblywoman Lucas added, “because of the concerns expressed by the tenants and our ability to work directly with NYCHA, the removal of the terraces has now been paused. I am happy to announce that there will be a vote among the residents on the future of the terraces, for full transparency.”
For residents of Linden Houses, the vote will be held Wednesday April 12th at 6:30pm at the Penn-Wortman Community Center, located at 895 Pennsylvania Ave., or you can join via Zoom at ID: 837 0253 4874.
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