Mitchell-Lama Housing With Union Legacy Under Siege
By Adrian Spencer
East River Landing, once a beacon of affordable housing, is in now in crisis
East River Landing, a Mitchell-Lama cooperative in East Harlem, has long stood as a symbol of affordable housing for working families. Established in 1974 by Local 1199 Drug and Hospital Workers’ Union (now 1199 SEIU), the cooperative was designed to provide safe, affordable homes for its members. Today, it houses 1,594 apartments, many occupied by union retirees and their families. However, under Metro Management Development Company and its principal officer David Baron, this beacon of affordability is now a flashpoint for mismanagement, neglect, and frustration.
Residents report deteriorating conditions, financial irregularities, and an unresponsive management team that has left them voiceless in critical decisions. While no longer union-owned, East River Landing remains a vital community for many union members and retirees, many of whom now face rapidly declining living standards.
Comptroller’s Audit Highlights Systemic Failures
East River Landing is not alone in its struggles. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s recent audit of three Mitchell-Lama complexes—Arverne/Nordeck in Queens, Arlington Terrace/North Shore in Staten Island, and York Hill in Manhattan—uncovered widespread mismanagement and over $1 million in questionable spending. The findings underscore a larger pattern of neglect within the Mitchell-Lama program, exacerbated by the Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) agency’s lax oversight.
The issues at East River Landing mirror those at other complexes managed by Metro Management. Esplanade Gardens, once known as the "Jewel of Harlem," saw its infrastructure crumble under Metro’s stewardship, leading to the company’s ousting in 2023. Despite this, Metro Management continues to oversee numerous Mitchell-Lama cooperatives, raising concerns about its ability to uphold the program's mission. Legal cases regarding Metro Management’s practices remain ongoing, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction and growing scrutiny.
Residents Grapple with Unsafe and Hazardous Conditions
Tenants at East River Landing describe a daily battle with poor living conditions. Persistent complaints include:
Maintenance Failures: Mold, leaks, broken stairwells, and compromised fire safety measures.
Utility Disruptions: Frequent water outages—both hot and cold—at least twice a month, along with recent power outages lasting hours.
Canceled Projects: The board’s removal of a funded cogeneration project, intended to address power and heating needs, has left residents questioning the rationale behind the decision.
“Despite paying maintenance fees and fulfilling our obligations, our requests for basic repairs and safety measures are ignored or delayed,” one resident lamented.
Financial Discrepancies Raise Alarm
Residents have flagged alarming discrepancies in financial records, including:
Significant discrepancies in reported assets and liabilities across multiple years.
A sharp decline in net cash from operations in 2024, reflecting inefficiencies in expense management and revenue collection.
Residents' frustrations are exacerbated by persistent governance failures and a concerning lack of transparency. These issues reflect a broader pattern of disregard for cooperative governance standards, including:
Meeting Barriers: Open meetings had not been held for years, and Zoom sessions were capped at 100 participants, excluding many shareholders from participating in critical discussions.
Voiceless Shareholders: Residents who attend meetings are frequently muted, leaving their concerns unheard and stifling meaningful dialogue. As a result, issues remain unresolved, with the same problems recurring meeting after meeting, further frustrating shareholders.
Unreleased Records: Election results and meeting minutes from 2021 to mid-2023 remain undisclosed, depriving shareholders of essential insights into decision-making processes.
Unilateral Actions: The current board president extended the management contract without the necessary board vote, a decision that further erodes trust and accountability.
Despite repeated requests for financial records, election results, and meeting minutes—including specific requests for bank statements, which were refused—shareholders have received little response. These refusals appear to conflict with the cooperative’s obligations under Section 32(3) of the Private Housing Finance Law and, where applicable, Section 624 of the Business Corporation Law, both of which entitle shareholders to inspect corporate books and records for a proper purpose. Meanwhile, the limited financial statements that have been disclosed reveal multiple inconsistencies: a $2,287,228 discrepancy in Total Current Assets between the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 statements, a $2,543,890 variance in Cash and Cash Equivalents over the same period, and a $1,340,430 discrepancy in Total Long-Term Liabilities between the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 statements.
These irregularities undermine confidence in the cooperative’s fiscal integrity, particularly given management’s failure to provide the most recent audited financial statement—a requirement under Section 32(3)—before proposing an increase in monthly maintenance fees. As one concerned shareholder stated, “How can HPD and HDC justify reviewing this increase when the board hasn’t even complied with its legal reporting requirements? Decisions are made unilaterally without accountability." This is not the community envisioned by the founders of 1199 Housing.”
The Larger Crisis in Affordable Housing
The issues at East River Landing reflect a broader crisis in affordable housing. Many elderly residents and single-parent families are particularly vulnerable to the deteriorating conditions. East River Landing shareholder Ray Rogers emphasized, “These failures are emblematic of the larger crisis facing affordable housing programs. Tenants in Mitchell-Lama complexes and NYCHA housing need effective oversight and accountability from honest managements and city agencies, and their elected boards.”
Residents Demand Reform
Faced with these systemic issues, residents are rallying for change. They are calling for:
Financial Transparency: Audited financial statements and detailed accounting of discrepancies.
Improved Oversight: Stricter enforcement by HPD, HDC, and state agencies to ensure compliance with Mitchell-Lama’s mission.
Maintenance and Safety: Immediate action to address hazardous conditions and restore basic utilities.
Through tenant activism and relentless demands for accountability, residents aim to restore East River Landing and other Mitchell-Lama complexes to their original mission: providing safe, dignified, and affordable housing for all working families.
Call to Action
If you are a resident facing similar challenges in other Metro Management-run complexes, contact the 1199 Corporation Coalition of Residents Fighting Back at: 1199CorpCoalition@proton.me