December 16, 2008
Section: NEWS
Edition: GWP-Westchester and Putnam
Page: 1B
Yonkers officials unveil housing to replace Mulford Gardens
Ernie Garcia
STAFF
YONKERS - The public got its first look yesterday at the new housing that will replace the Mulford Gardens public housing complex.
The $23 million Croton Heights Apartments, a 60-unit building at 193 Ashburton Ave., will welcome 20 former Mulford Gardens tenants next month. The mixed-income building is the first of several planned to replace the 550 units lost at Mulford Gardens, which is being razed.
Raymond Walker, 58, a retired bus driver, lived in Mulford Gardens and will be one of the new tenants of Croton Heights. Walker said he always intended to return to the Mulford Gardens neighborhood.
"This is my home," said Walker, who will rent a one-bedroom unit. "I just like it over here."
Mayor Phil Amicone said the Croton Heights Apartments' opening was evidence of the city's commitment to its low-income residents and the neighborhood along Ashburton Avenue.
"We're not rebuilding it in spite of the people who were here. We're building it for the people who were here," Amicone said during a reception that included speeches by Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano and Rep. Nita Lowey, among others.
Only 20 former residents of Mulford Gardens are expected to move into the new building because just 18 of its units are public housing. An additional 15 apartments are reserved for people who receive what are known as Section 8 housing vouchers. The remaining units are reserved for people whose incomes vary from 60 percent to 90 percent of the median income in Westchester County.
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 2008 median income in Westchester for a one-person household is $71,100. A one-bedroom apartment at Croton Heights will rent for $1,086 a month, while two-bedroom and three-bedroom units will rent for $1,371 and $1,571, respectively.
The building's amenities include a gym, a community room, off-street parking and a laundry. Landex, a property management firm, will manage Croton Heights.
The limited number of public- housing units at Croton Heights is the main reason that so few former tenants of Mulford Gardens are not moving into the complex, said Joseph Shuldiner, executive director of the city's Municipal Housing Authority. Shuldiner explained that the replacement housing for Mulford Gardens will be mixed-income and that some former residents could not meet income requirements to live in Croton Heights, even at 60 percent of the county's median income.
Walker said he found the application process for the new housing easy, but Renee Bates, 47, a hospital dietary aide, said she found it difficult because of all the income scrutiny and background checks. Nonetheless, Bates, who lived at Mulford Gardens for 21 years, said she wanted to return to her old neighborhood because she foresees a bright future for the area.
"I've seen some of the sketches," said Bates, who will move into a three-bedroom unit. "It's going to be beautiful when they are done and those that didn't want to come back will wish they did when it's finished."
Reach Ernie Garcia at elgarcia@lohud.com or 914-696-8290.
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