[13] These sections are Ardsley, Bethel, Croton, Delmar, Elmira, Freeport, Geneva, and Hornell, which are each named after municipalities in New York State.
[14] The residential part of Starrett City includes eight parking garages, a community center, and two public schools.
[17] The power plant opened in 1973 and provides electricity, heating, cooling, and hot water to all residents of Starrett City.
The treatment plant, located on a 57.3-acre (23.2 ha) plot, can filter up to 170,000,000 US gallons (640,000,000 L) per day from the sewage systems in Brownsville, Canarsie, and East New York.
[25][26] It is home to many world champion boxers, including Zab Judah, Shannon Briggs, Dmitriy Salita, Luis Collazo, and Will Rosinsky.
Edwin Donovan and William Walsh write that "Statistically, Starrett City must be considered one of the safest communities in the United States.
The nearest New York City Subway stations are at East 105th Street and Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway, both served by the L train.
[38] In March 1964, the investment group applied to the New York State Housing Finance Agency for a mortgage worth $145 million towards the development.
[39] On December 1, 1964, the State Housing Finance Agency announced a project called Park Shore Village, which would construct a middle-income apartment complex on the site.
[44] On June 27, 1967, Governor Nelson Rockefeller announced modified version of the project called Twin Pines Village, which would construct a cooperative on the 145-acre (59 ha) site in what was then part of Canarsie.
[46] In December 1967, the state gave the UHF $15.8 million to start construction on the Twin Pines Village complex.
[11]: 55 [51] Following the exit of the UHF, the project was sold to a new group of investors, including Disque Deane and Lazard Frères along with around 200 other individuals.
[11]: 56 The initial work included the filling of the swampland with sand from Jamaica Bay, and the construction of the power plant.
[16] The complex was dedicated on October 13, 1974, in a ceremony attended by Governor Malcolm Wilson and Mayor Abraham Beame.
[12] Although lower-income families were not given subsidies to live in Starrett City, the development did allow residents to use state and federal housing programs to pay off part of their rent.
[55] Pennsylvania Avenue was reopened to traffic that December, sparking protests by residents who had previously used the street to play.
The plans called for Spring Creek Towers to receive two new parks, as well as new elevators, laundry rooms, windows, and lighting.
Since the property had met its 20-year requirement under Mitchell-Lama by the late 1990s, this raised fears that a new owner would increase rents and squeeze out current tenants.
[66] CB Richard Ellis, which brokered the Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village deal earlier in 2006, served as the listing agent.
On February 8, 2007, Starrett City Associates agreed to sell the sprawling complex to David Bistricer's Clipper Equity LLC for $1.3 billion.
[69][70][71] In response to HUD's rejection of the deal, Clipper Equity proposed a new bid, which included reducing operating expenses and redeveloping part of the land into new housing.
[72] Clipper Equity took other steps to garner support, including receiving informal backing from influential ministers Rev.
This agreement was further buttressed by federal legislation, which made preserving the property as affordable housing easier for a new buyer.
[76] In September 2017, The New York Times reported that the complex was being sold to the Brooksville Company and Rockpoint Group for $850 million.
The two groups sued each other in New York Supreme Court over allegations that Carol's sale of Starrett City to Brooksville and Rockpoint did not maximize profits for shareholders.
[11]: 55 By 1983, the complex's 5,881 apartments were fully occupied, and three-fourths of the 6,000 families on Starrett City's waiting list were minorities.
[96] In June 1984, the Reagan administration sued Starrett City over the racial quota system, stating that it violated federal anti-discrimination laws.
[96] After losing the court case, Starrett City did not immediately start taking families from the 80 percent African-American waiting list to fill vacancies.
[104] In July 1990, Starrett City Associates proposed to make apartments available to Soviet Jews who came to the United States in order to maintain racial diversity.
[106] New York State instead housed the Soviet Jewish families in Co-op City, a similar development in the Bronx.