Proposed Development Could Force Seniors to Relocate
- Alexandra Pierson
- Oct 2, 2018
- 3 min read
A proposed 80-story development designed to “cantilever over” Two Bridges Senior Apartments would displace 19 low-income tenants.
Pink and purple petunias line the walkway at 80 Rutgers Slip. Two Bridges Senior Apartments, a tidy ten-story residence, sits in the shadow of an 800-foot high-rise. Soon the buildings could be mirror images.
The 109 apartments at 80 Rutgers are part of the Section 202 program which provides housing for low-income seniors. Y.L. has been a resident of 80 Rutgers for the past 20 years. He does not speak English, but his friend is able to translate Chinese. Y.L. said he had not heard about any plans for the building, nor had he been informed that people might have to move.
Other residents echoed his confusion. Even security guard Michael Babb is surprised.
“I heard some things, but no one sat me down and told me,” Babb said.
Babb, age 30, has been working at Two Bridges Senior Apartments for a year and a half. He estimates that 85 percent of the residents do not speak English. More than 9,000 residents in the area spoke a language other than English at home, and 49 percent reported that they spoke English “less than very well,” according to the 2015 American Community Survey.
Babb worries that the development could impact his job. “Five years from now, it will be completely different. I might not be here.”
In a joint application, JDS Development Group, Starrett Development, and CIM Group and L+M Development Partners have proposed three projects in the Two Bridges neighborhood. The projects under review include properties at 259 Clinton St., 260 South St., and 247 Cherry St. The third project, at the corner of Cherry Street and Rutgers Slip, would be an 80-story residence designed to “cantilever over” Two Bridges Senior Apartments. 19 tenants from 80 Rutgers would need to relocate.
In their 829-page Final Scope of Work report, the developers state:
“The Site 4 (4A/4B) applicant intends to relocate the approximately 19 residents living in these units during the construction period to comparable, newly renovated units within the 80 Rutgers Slip building as they become available or, if necessary, to units in neighboring buildings.”

The new building would offer up to 660 apartments. 25 percent of these spaces would be designated affordable under option E of the Affordable New York Housing Program. This means 10 percent would be available to tenants who earn at most 40 percent of New York’s Annual Median Income[1] ($37,560 for a family of three), 10 percent would be available to tenants who earn at most 60 percent AMI ($56,340) and 5 percent would be available to tenants who earn at most 120 percent AMI ($112,680). The annual median income in Two Bridges is $28,183 according to the 2016 ACS.
247 Cherry St. would be the neighborhood’s second residential high-rise. A one-bedroom condominium inside Extell Development’s One Manhattan Square costs 1.2 million dollars.
Construction worker, Michael Jackson, has been assigned to One Manhattan Square for the past two years. “I don’t like it,” Jackson said, gesturing toward the East River. “They’ve ruined the view.” The 800-foot “vertical village” offers amenities such as a rooftop deck, fitness center, spa and bowling alley.

Across the street, people sleep on benches underneath a billboard that reads: “Your Own Private Pool.” What some call luxury, Jackson calls, “American greed.”
One amenity not offered at One Manhattan Square: a grocery store. The Pathmark that once stood in its place, two blocks from 80 Rutgers, closed in 2012. 58-year-old Hakim Sullivan said this kind of development disrupts seniors’ lives and disrespects the community. He has lived at 82 Rutgers Slip for the past 21 years. With Pathmark gone, Sullivan said, “I either have to push my wheelchair a quarter mile east to Fine Fare or a quarter mile west to C-Town Supermarket.”
Vietnam veteran Ralph Pagan has lived in Two Bridges his whole life. He says that the Essex St. Target, which opened in August, is too expensive for the neighborhood. “Pathmark was convenient for people,” Pagan said, “it had everything.” Still, Pagan thinks development would improve the area. “It’s gonna help the neighborhood,” he said, speaking of repairs. “Rich people will get it done.”
The developers have issued a statement:
“These are investments that will provide genuine and lasting benefits for the neighborhood. Additionally, the three proposed projects will deliver approximately 700 much-needed units of permanently affordable housing – one of the largest infusions of affordable housing in Manhattan in decades, and a critical addition amid the ongoing housing crisis.”
The City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing for the Two Bridges development projects at 120 Broadway on Oct. 17 at 10 a.m.
Crossing over Henry Street the East River emerges on the horizon. It is a million-dollar view.
[1] The 2018 AMI for NYC is $93,900 for a three-person family, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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