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Complaint-Plagued Affordable Buildings Get $46M in Repairs

By Nicholas Rizzi | September 16, 2014 3:52pm
  The state announced the completion of the $46 million in restoration to Terrace Gardens on Tuesday.
Terrace Gardens Apartments Renovated
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CONCORD — Developers completed a $46 million repair job on two apartment buildings long plagued by broken-down elevators and unfixed building violations, state officials and building owners said Tuesday. 

Terrace Gardens, an affordable housing complex at 195 and 231 Steuben Sts., had broken elevators, windows, mice, busted locks and had racked up more than 200 housing code violations last year, the Daily News reported.

The building's new owner, the Arker Companies, got financing from the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) in June 2013 to renovate kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, communal spaces and an outdoor garden. 

"I used to be embarrassed to live here," said Sharon Merillo, who's lived in the building for 35 years with her husband, at a press conference Tuesday. "But, you know what, I love it now. It's beautiful here."

The two multi-family buildings, which have a combined 198 units, haven't been fixed up since the 1970s. Aside from fixes to the apartments, renovations also included re-paved parking lots and the installation of a new security system along with new elevator cabs and machinery to fix chronic breakdowns, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.

“Every New Yorker deserves a safe, decent and affordable place to live, and with these renovations, dozens of Staten Island residents and families will have just that,” Cuomo said in statement.

“Our $1 billion House New York program — along with investment in community projects like Terrace Gardens — is part of this administration’s strong and unwavering commitment to create and preserve high-quality affordable housing across New York.”

The two properties were originally owned by developer Michael Shah, who sold it to Arker Properties for $27 million in September, the Real Deal reported. Several months later, Arker secured funding and begun work on renovations to the buildings.

While the building has been a hassle to reside in for years, longtime residents said they love living there and are glad it finally looks better.

"We look like we live in Park Hill," said Merillo, who raised three children in the buildings. "But it's good old Steuben Street, and I love Steuben Street."