BY TEQUILA MINSKY | At a press conference outside of The Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards, at 31st St. and 10th Ave., Jumaane Williams called out how the $25-billion Hudson Yards project focuses on the wealthy, in more ways than one.
While people knew this project was “not meant for the majority, to begin with, it’s like rubbing salt in the wounds,” the new public advocate said, pointing to some of the financials behind the massive new development just south of the Javits Convention Center.
“They got $6 billion in a tax supplement,” he said.
Williams might have been referring to the $4.4 billion that included the extension of the No. 7 subway line, a new school, a major park and pocket parks. Crain’s New York Business recently wrote about a report by The New School university that listed a total of tax breaks of $ 1.36 billion for the megaproject.
“It is quite clear that this project was not for the majority of this city,” he charged. “And you can’t even buy food to eat if you work around here because Citarella and sweetgreen behind me are cashless, making it quite clear who is welcome here and who is not.”
Williams gestured to a map graphic of Manhattan and added, “Hudson Yards got $1.2 billion of a visa program that is here. It’s stunning.”
He was referring to a program targeted to help immigrants.
The map illustrates how the multibillion-dollar Hudson Yards technically qualifies as a “distressed urban area” under the EB-5 program, gerrymandered into a district that links it to public housing in Harlem.
Under the EB-5 Green Card program, if foreigners invest $500,000 in a U.S. real estate project, they can get permanent residence for their families. However, this visa program is meant to help rural or economically distressed urban areas, according to Williams. Foreigners can also get the visas if they invest $1 million in projects in nondistressed areas.
Hudson Yards is not in a distressed urban area. But in 1990 when Congress created the EB-5 visa program, it didn’t specify how geographic boundaries should be drawn. According to the blog City Lab, “Without their knowledge, the residents of a number of public housing developments helped to make Hudson Yards possible.”
“Quite literally, this project was built on the backs of people who need the most help,” Williams charged. “This is an employment zone degraded. My guess is not a lot of people [from the actual distressed areas] are employed here — and if they go to lunch they better have cash.”
In response, a Hudson Yards spokesperson touted how the large-scale development project — the biggest private development in U.S. history — is an economic engine for the entire city and that a number of people from local housing projects have been hired.
Williams urged Citarella, sweetgreen and other commercial tenants at Hudson Yards to rescind their cashless business practices at a matter of good faith before the City Council takes action. A bill in the City Council would force businesses to accept cash payments. He further called on New Yorkers to boycott any cashless businesses at Hudson Yards and throughout the city.
And he charged that the Hudson Yards development partners, Related and Oxford Properties Group, have dragged their feet on constructing affordable units.
“At least build the 10 percent affordable housing that you said you would,” he demanded.
