$14M to upgrade two Springfield Gardens apartment towers

Two Springfield Gardens apartment towers for low-income seniors should receive substantial infrastructure upgrades next year, paid for by a year-end budget allocation made by the New York City Housing and Development Corporation (HDC), Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last week.
The work at 166-01 Linden Boulevard and 166-02 Sayres Avenue, for which $14 million has been allocated, will include rehabilitation of the buildings’ dual fuel oil and natural gas heating systems, sprinkler and electrical systems and roof, said HDC spokesperson Aaron Donovan. All residents, upwards of 400, will also receive new kitchen cabinets.
The improvements are part of a $550 million financing package approved by the HDC at its final board meeting for the calendar year held on Friday, December 8. The sum will build or preserve over 2,000 affordable apartments throughout all five boroughs and bring the HDC’s total 2006 housing investment to $1.8 billion, which will pay for over 9,000 affordable apartments.
According to the statement, this is the largest volume of financing and the greatest number of apartments built or preserved in one year since the corporation was chartered 35 years ago.
&#8220HDC, which serves only New York City, this year has issued more bonds for affordable apartment buildings than any other city or state agency in the nation,” said Mayor Bloomberg. &#8220It has been a banner year for HDC, and as a result we are continuing to make record levels of investments in the future of all five boroughs.”
The HDC makes low-cost mortgages available to developers for the construction and preservation of affordable multi-family rental housing and cooperative developments serving very-low to middle-income tenants. The mortgages are derived from the sales proceeds of tax-exempt and taxable bonds in addition to money lent from the agency’s corporate reserves, according to the Mayor’s statement.