The redevelopment of two NYCHA complexes in Chelsea has emerged as a wedge issue in the high-profile race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler.
The city plans to demolish and rebuild the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses, replacing 2,056 units with brand new apartments in six high-rise buildings. The NYCHA residents would be guaranteed new homes — and new neighbors in the complex that would include as many as 3,500 affordable and market-rate apartments.
The replacement plan is the first of its kind for NYCHA. The agency turned to private developers to fund the redevelopment, saying it was the best way to address a backlog of nearly $1 billion in repairs at Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea. But some worry the project is a step toward privatizing public housing.
“We’re getting older, and we still have to think about [where we are going to live?]” said Yu Story, 80, one of a handful of holdouts who have refused to leave their apartments to allow for the demolition. “This is my last home, my last bed, because I’m 80 years old… This is my final place.”
Leading candidates for the 12th Congressional District seat weighed in on the plan during a recent debate at Hunter College’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute.
Assemblymember Micah Lasher, a Nadler protege, supported the plan, saying it is the quickest way to fix the deteriorating apartments.
“I am not going to tell the residents of Chelsea Elliott and Fulton houses that the cavalry is going to come from Washington while they are living in housing that is crumbling before them,” Lasher said. “The idea that a renovation … is going to be less disruptive than the plan that's on the table is simply not honest.”
Assemblymember Alex Bores said a tenant vote on the project had been "rushed." Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg opposed it, saying seniors should not be displaced.
The Fulton Houses in Chelsea.
“I think it's great to have development, and I think that we need to increase the supply of housing in this district,” Schlossberg said. “I don't think that means we should kick elderly people out of their homes, demolish their homes … and then convert that public housing into basically semi-private housing.”
Schlossberg’s grandmother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, famously fought to preserve historic buildings, including Grand Central Terminal.
Schlossberg, who gained notoriety through his social media presence, recorded a video with tenants opposed to the project, including Story.
“The real issue here is money,” Schlossberg said in the video.
Miguel Acevedo, the tenant association president at Fulton Houses, criticized Schlossberg for spreading “misinformation.”
“ The candidates should be honest. [They shouldn’t] make up negative narratives… to look like the savior,” said Miguel Acevedo, the Fulton Houses tenant association president and a supporter of the plan. “ The candidate who is a Kennedy who's been spoiled with a silver spoon all his life, has a trust of over $11 million. He would never spend a day in public housing because he doesn't need to.”
NYCHA spokesperson Michael Horgan also took a dig at people he said were fomenting misunderstandings about the project.
“The plan puts NYCHA residents first, delivering a more equitable living experience for them, inclusive of the modern amenities and accessibility features enjoyed by their neighbors in Chelsea,” Horgan said in a statement. “A small group of activists, including some who do not live in NYCHA, are spreading misinformation about the project and attempting to disrupt the relocation process.”
George Conway, a former conservative lawyer and prominent critic of President Donald Trump who is also in the crowded congressional race, did not respond to an inquiry about the project.
The Chelsea Addition senior building is one of the first two slated for demolition under a plan to redevelop the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses.
The plan calls for developers to move tenants into the new buildings in phases as they are completed and then demolish the empty complexes. Two dozen holdouts in that building have so far refused to move.
Last week, a midlevel appeals court paused the project as a lawsuit challenging the development proceeds. Shovels won’t go in the ground until at least September. By then, Nadler’s presumptive successor will have been nominated in the Democratic primary, all but guaranteeing a win in the general election.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration supports the project, which was initiated by previous Mayor Eric Adams.
Cristal Zoraida Luciano, a mother of two who lives in the Elliott-Chelsea Houses, said the candidates’ stance on the project will determine her vote. She’s in favor of the plan for new buildings.
But she noted she’s been burned in the past by politicians who made empty promises to fix the crumbling development.
“I have no idea who I'm voting for at this point. Because I'm just gonna be very honest with you. I have lost a lot of hope. People make promises and they break them and it's like, just do the right thing,” Luciano said. “Children should not have to live in a home that is full of toxins, that has asbestos, that has black mold everywhere. It’s just not right.”
