Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
if they were about half the size in height they would make a cool compliment to the Mosholu Pkwy green. and also if the towers didn't have that tacky look to them up close it would be better
Me too.They are one of the best examples of "brutalist" architecture in the city.
I look out at several residential towers across from my office windows in midtown west and some of those buildings remind me of projects. I laugh to myself and wonder how much people are paying in rent to live in those tiny box apartments in non-descript buildings. Say what you want about TT, but at least they are unique looking. If they were luxury rentals and in Manhattan, I wonder how the comments here might differ.
Last edited by pietrang; 06-28-2014 at 03:56 PM..
Reason: correction
I look out at several residential towers across from my office windows in midtown west and some of those buildings remind me of projects. I laugh to myself and wonder how much people are paying in rent to live in those tiny box apartments in non-descript buildings. Say what you want about TT, but at least they are unique looking. If they were luxury rentals and in Manhattan, I wonder how the comments here might differ.
Pietrang of course your right but remember the old RE adage. Location, Location, and Location. Of course TT would look 100x's better on W 57th between 6th and 7th ave. The part that bothers me and middle class families. Why don't the powers at be build these apt's or low income buildings along Sutton Place? A old bar Chumley's can't even reopen in the West Village without a huge litigious brawl. That's what IMO creates the "Tale of two Cities".
Side note, Heard the old gas station to the right of 100 East Mosholu pkwy. Right off the concourse near St Georges Crescent. It's gonna be a 150 family low income/ special services housing.
The reason why Tracey Towers has such a low income clientele is because of it's underlying structure at the beginning.Some Mitchell Lama rentals were set up to follow a rent formula based on the greater NYC metropolitan area income average and others were set up to follow a rent formula based on the average rents in the specific area in which the buildings were located. Guess which formula was used for Tracey ? You got it,it was set up so that the rents were based on the average rents in The Bronx in 1972 or whenever it went up.Think about what what was happening in the rental market in The Bronx at that time. So,it was doomed to it's current status from the very beginning.Until the recent much fought rent increases( a couple of years ago) at Tracey, the average rents were still ( in 2012!)only $163 per room per month. Even with the "huge" increases,the rents are only about $200 per room per month.
Before the recent rent increases Tracey Towers actually has the dubious distinction of being the most affordable( cheapest) Mitchell Lama housing complex in all of NYC .Even with the increase it may still be the cheapest Mitchell Lama complex in the city.. or certainly one of them.
You can't generalize about Mitchell Lama because not all Mitchell Lama rentals or co ops were created equal.There are a few quite large Mitchell Lama rental buildings that went up in my neighborhood around the same time as Tracey Towers but their rents were/are based off of the NYC metropolitan area incomes.The difference in the end result is startling.The buildings in my neighborhood are filled with teachers,firemen,cops,etc… mostly households in the 60,000 to 100,000 income range . The buildings in my neighborhood have actually done what others on here have said Tracey Towers should have done.They served as a stabilizing influence during the decades when the city( and The Bronx in particular) were in decline.
The truth is all Tracey Towers did was introduce residents of a lower class to the neighborhood that otherwise would not have ventured out to TT from other parts of the city if it wasn't built/catered for low income people.
I'd be signing a different tune if from day one TT was either luxury rentals or even coops simply because the class of people living in TT would of been totally different from the current demographic and have positive spill over into the neighborhood.
Side note, Heard the old gas station to the right of 100 East Mosholu pkwy. Right off the concourse near St Georges Crescent. It's gonna be a 150 family low income/ special services housing.
Which old gas station are you talking about? Or did you mean the auto body shop on Van Cortlandt Ave E and St Georges Crescent?
I think that even if these towers were mostly upper middle class people it would still be a net minus for the neighborhood. They're visible for miles around and stick out like a sore thumb. Throws off the balance of what looks like a decent neighborhood of single family homes and six story apartment buildings. Placing towers like these in low rise neighborhoods in the outer boroughs is idiotic.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
