Mario Cuomo was a trusted negotiator before he became an elected politician. In 1972, Mayor John Lindsay proposed putting a low-income housing project with three 24-story buildings in the middle of Forest Hills, and upper middle class neighborhood in Queens. It ran into violent opposition. Cuomo was called upon to find a settlement. He trod a very narrow, very careful line. His proposal, which was adopted, put three 12-story buildings in the neighborhood, with a significant number of apartments reserved for seniors. And, it was a "Mitchell/Lama Coop"--a type of housing in which the tenant puts down a certain amount of money per room (not a lot), but can only sell it back to the Housing Authority. The project succeeded without harming the neighborhood. It was one of the significant stepping stones to Cuomo's political career.
I love Forest Hills, TB. Beautiful neighborhood. I would have lived on Austin Street in a heartbeat way back when. And I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but there's a HUGE Bukharian Jewish population living there now. And those old Mitchell/Lama Co-Ops are Ground Zero for many of them.
