Markham Gardens Houses

Preserving Affordable Housing on Staten Island

The Markham Gardens Tenant Association – representing the tenants in a 360-unit public housing development in West Brighton, on the north shore of Staten Island – approached the Pratt Center for assistance in the winter of 2004. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) had announced plans to demolish the low-rise, garden-style buildings and replace them with 270 units of affordable rental and homeownership housing that would be developed and operated by a private owner.

The tenants – who value Markham Gardens’ front stoops, backyards, and tight-knit community – had concerns about NYCHA’s decision. The tenants Association challenged whether their buildings truly required demolition. Tenants wanted to ensure their right to return to their homes after redevelopment and wanted a say in what the “new Markham” would be. Initially, NYCHA did not commit to the tenants’ right to return. They maintained that the history and character of the community was of little significance and that the buildings were no longer habitable. And they did not invite the tenants to participate in the redevelopment of their neighborhood.

In order to help assess NYCHA’s claims, the Pratt Center provided architectural, structural, historic, and social analysis. We concluded that nothing mandated demolition: the buildings were not structurally unsound, they were built as permanent housing, and no codes required demolition. However, our analysis did agree that significant rehabilitation was necessary and would be expensive. We also found that the housing complex, originally built in 1943 to house laborers in nearby shipyards and designated as permanent low-rent housing, was historically significant – a feature that should be factored in to any redevelopment. Finally, we raised concerns about challenges that public housing tenants around the country have faced in coming back to privatized affordable housing. These findings are documented in our report, Preserving Affordable Housing at Markham Gardens.
basketball court

The Tenant Association also reached out to Staten Island clergy leadership, lead by Rev. Terry Troia of Project Hospitality, to City Council member Michael McMahon, and to other allies. Working together, they obtained important agreements from the Housing Authority: NYCHA has publicly agreed that all tenants will have the right to return - paying no more than 30% of their income for rent – to low-rise rental housing, senior housing, or affordable homeownership opportunities which will all be available on the site. They also agreed to build 350-400 units and to seek to develop additional affordable housing elsewhere on Staten Island.

NYCHA and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD, which will co-manage the project) have also given positive indications about the Tenant Association’s several other requests. Tenants want a written agreement spelling out their right to return in detail. They want meaningful input into the redevelopment plans (e.g. a planning workshop with the selected developer), and they want to see the history and character of Markham Gardens preserved in the scale, layout, design, and program for the new development.

The entire process of redevelopment will take several years. This project offers an exciting opportunity to demonstrate a new form of historic preservation in which history, quality of life, and equity are addressed equally to the benefit of low-income people.