As Long as They're Artists

Affordable housing for some, but not for others:

City planners unanimously gave a conditional site plan approval Monday night to the Rural Ulster Preservation Company to renovate a former lace curtain factory in Midtown and turn it into an affordable housing project.

The Planning Board voted 5-0 to give Ulster Preservation Company a site plan approval with certain conditions attached such as supplying the city with particular plans for view by the staff at the Planning Office.

The affordable-housing agency plans to construct 55 apartments at the former United States Lace Curtain Factory building at South Manor Avenue and Cornell Street.

Those plans include lighting, landscaping, and storm water runoff, among others.

At the end of the day, converting old buildings into decent apartments is a good thing. But I have a bad taste in my mouth on this one, as there are people out there who are much more needy than the artists who will live in the new building.

And when developers talked about building affordable housing for regular folks, the response was a full-blown freakout about the city not needing any more affordable housing. Members of the council, mayoral candidates (including Shayne Gallo) were on the record vehemently opposing such projects. Yet this one is okay for some reason.

So, here's to all the hypocrites who are perfectly okay with affordable housing -- just as long as it's, you know, "educated" types that will be living there. You know what I mean, right? We don't want more "undesirables." Wink, wink.