Residents at Rochdale Village, one of the largest Mitchell-Lama co-op housing complexes in the country, staged a protest Sunday against proposed rate hikes that could rise as high as 30%.
Residents on Sept. 7 gathered at the Rochdale Park basketball courts against the backdrop of the Rochdale Village Annual Fall Festival to voice concerns about “draconian and unjust” rate hikes at the massive affordable housing complex, which is home to roughly 25,000 people.
Rochdale Village is a relic of the state’s Mitchell-Lama program, introduced in 1955, which provided affordable housing for middle-income households by placing income caps on those who can purchase homes and by limiting how much a unit can be sold for.
At Rochdale Village, residents typically pay a purchase price of up to $23,000 before paying average monthly maintenance costs ranging between $1,000 and $1,800, according to a June report in Gothamist.
But the 5,860-unit complex, like many other Mitchell-Lama complexes in the city, is currently facing a myriad of financial problems, including rising debts and insurance rates as well as mounting upkeep and maintenance costs.
Residents attribute the rising costs to the complex’s all-volunteer board and Summit Property Management, the private company that oversees the Rochdale Village complex.
Gothamist reported earlier in the year that the sprawling complex is facing an $11.4 million shortfall next year, with the volunteer board approving a 22.3% rate hike in January 2025 to combat that shortfall.
Residents now say New York State’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), which reviewed that decision, has proposed between 22-30% increases in charges.
They also alleged that the agency floated a rate hike of up to 57% but said this was a worst-case scenario rather than a formal proposal.
Residents, meanwhile, have blamed Summit for failing to pay water bills dating back to late 2020, leaving residents facing almost $17 million in unpaid water bills. They further accused the property management company of providing “sweetheart” commercial leases to banks and supermarkets and said there is a $195 million “predatory” mortgage that has ballooned debt at the complex.
‘We can’t trust this management company’
On Sept. 7, a few dozen residents gathered to protest against touted rate hikes, holding signs such as “30% hike = Lack of Oversight” and “The Math Ain’t Mathing = Send Summit Packing.”
However, protesters expressed frustration that more residents did not turn out for the event given the “significance” of the issue.
Some protesters also criticized elected officials for failing to appear at the event after organizers invited Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, State Sen. James Sanders Jr. and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani to attend the rally.
Rodney Reid, a 40-year Rochdale Village shareholder and a former chairman of the volunteer board, took aim at elected officials for failing to join Sunday’s demonstration and called for a more vocal protest against a potential 30% rate hike. He argued that a 3% hike for the city’s rent stabilized apartments is met with more opposition and concern than a potential 30% hike at Rochdale Village.
“The city went up in arms over a 3% increase for rent-stabilized apartments,” Reid said at the protest. “Nobody is saying nothing about a 30 percent increase. We need to come and collectively have our voices heard.”
Reid added that residents are calling for any potential hike to be frozen until “full accountability” is introduced at Rochdale Village. He called on the State’s Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), which oversees DHCR, to conduct a forensic audit of Rochdale Village’s finances.
“We can’t trust this management company with any more money. They misuse it,” Reid alleged at Sunday’s protest.
John Ferretti, a resident at Rochdale Village, said proposed hikes would put a “huge hole” in his budget but insisted that he and his wife would “find a way.”
“What I’m really more concerned about is the people who won’t find a way, the people who are already falling behind on the carrying charges that we currently have,” Ferretti said.
‘Where am I going to go’
Celeste Reed, who moved to the Mitchell-Lama complex in 2013, said she has just recently lost her job and said she would be “priced out” of Rochdale Village if the proposed increases went into effect. She said a 30% increase translates into an additional $378 per month in fees.
Reid said she has struggled to find a new job due to her age and added that a job paying $25 per hour would just about cover her current expenses at the complex. A 30% increase would effectively displace her, she said.
“I would be priced out of this place, and where am I going to go?” Reed said.
Fellow resident Cynthia Horner said many people who moved to Rochdale were under the impression that they would eventually be able to leave their home to their children, describing the Mitchell-Lama complex as a resident’s “definition of generational wealth.”
However, she said proposed increases would displace many residents who currently call Rochdale Village home.
“They’re not going to have that (generational wealth) because first of all, many of these people are going to have to move,” Horner said. “There is absolutely no way that some of these people are going to be able to pay (30%) more a month on a fixed income.”
‘Severe financial challenges’
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, whose district covers Rochdale Village, said the complex has served as an “affordable housing and homeownership hub” for Southeast Queens for decades.
“Like other Mitchell-Lama developments across New York City, Rochdale Village is facing severe financial challenges from accumulating building capital and maintenance costs that threaten affordability for residents,” Adams said in a statement.
Adams, who was not specifically invited to Sunday’s protest, noted that Mitchell-Lama is a state program, with developments requiring interventions from the state to resolve their financial challenges.
However, she said she has fought to secure City Council funding and assistance to support Rochdale Village and other Mitchell-Lama developments, including $7 million in funding for facade restoration and $17 million for local parks, school and public safety infrastructure.
‘Laser-focused’
Meanwhile, a HCR spokesperson said Gov. Kathy Hochul remains “laser-focused” on making New York more affordable, stating that the Governor has included “much-needed relief” to Mitchell-Lama developments. That relief has included measures such as cutting Mitchell-Lama shelter rent taxes in half and banning “discriminatory practices” for affordable housing insurance premiums, the HCR spokesperson added.
“Additionally, the state advocated to remove tax liens and enter a payment plan with the NYC Water board to allow arrears repayment over 10 years,” a HCR spokesperson said. “Rochdale Village is a privately-owned and managed co-op and is governed by a board of directors that are elected by its cooperators.”
Sanders, who has not yet returned a request for comment, did not appear at Sunday’s protest but has previously met residents in his Albany office about the issue. The State Senator expressed anger and frustration about the financial crisis facing Rochdale Village and said the proposed hikes would make the complex “unaffordable.”
“I did not come here to lose Rochdale,” Sanders said in June. “These people are too good of a people to have out in the street. We are not going to see that happen.”
Summit Property Management did not return a request for comment.
