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Woodhaven buyer may fix housing for Chassidim

The Air Force's long-vacant Woodhaven housing complex could become a home for Hasidic Jews. Or maybe senior citizen housing. A third possibility is that the approximately 70 acres containing 270 residential units will be subdivided and the lots sold individually.


These three possibilities were discussed by two representatives of the prospective buyer with city officials, including Mayor James F. Brown, Thursday in a meeting at City Hall that lasted about 1 1/2 hours. The discussion focused on codes, infrastructure and tax assessment, said City Planning Director John A. Sorbello.


"I don't think that they really had a preferred one," Sorbello said when asked if one option was more likely than the other two. "It's a good project."

Sorbello said he did not have enough information to identify the New York City area group that is the apparent winner of the bidding competition run by the federal General Services Administration for the Air Force.

The purchase price is reported to be $2.05 million.

"They didn't really indicate a timeframe," Sorbello said. He said completing the transaction is the developer's first priority.

He said another meeting will be set up between the developer and the city "in the near future" to bore in on the issues of mutual interest.

The site divided by Park Drive in the southeast side of the city is made up of 143 buildings, of which 50 are single family, 76 are duplex and 17 are fourplex. They were constructed to Air Force specifications prior to 1960. Features such as water, sewer and electrical connections did not have to be built to meet local building and zoning codes.

"They're familiar with the issues for the infrastructure," Sorbello said.


The Woodhaven complex at the former Griffiss Air Force Base has sat empty for the last decade. The Air Force closed the base in 1995, costing the region some 5,000 military and civilian jobs. The structures have since been ravaged by vandals, harsh winters and time.

It is Sorbello's impression that the developer was interested in "renovating what's there for all three options." He does not foresee the entire development being exempt from property taxes under any of the scenarios.

Should the site become a religious community, structures like a school and synagogue would likely be exempt, but not privately owned residences.

In discussing the Woodhaven project at Thursday's meeting of the Griffiss Local Development Corp. board, Brown estimated renovated Woodhaven housing units could sell for $90,000 and more.

The GSA, the federal government's real estate agent, offered several disclaimers when the Woodhaven sale was being conducted:

Õ "All the homes have been unoccupied for almost 10 years and presently require extensive repairs."

Õ The homes are being sold "as is."

Õ "None of the residences are individually metered for any utility. Electrical service is available to the entire site; however, individual homes will require current code compliance."

This is not the first time that Woodhaven has been on the market. Past tentative deals have never come to fruition.

Griffiss Local Development Corp., which is overseeing the conversion of Griffiss to a business park, tried without success to land a developer and then turned the complex back to the Air Force Real Property Agency for disposal. In turn, the Air Force notified the GSA of the availability of Woodhaven.


The GSA auction started in April, and it too had difficulty reaching a deal. The two two highest bids, $3,600,000 million and $3,590,000, both fell through, forcing GSA to go back to the other bidders to determine if there was still interest in the complex.

No additional information was available from GSA Friday.

Nor is this the first report of interest in redeveloping Woodhaven as a community for Hasidic Jews. The possibility has come up before in connection with possible reuse of the housing complex.

Hasidic Jews have little to do with outsiders because they have their own community. The daily life of such communities is largely bounded by the neighborhood and its institutions, including school, prayer house, ritual bath and spiritual leader's residence. Hasidics trace their origin to a sect of Jewish mystics in 18th century Poland who emphasized joyful worship of an imminent God.

http://www.rny.com/archive/localnews/2005/september/09woodhavenbuyermayfixhous.html