[Perklol]

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/re...s&emc=rss&_r=1

Living in the Mix
Affordable Housing in New York’s Luxury Buildings

By JULIE SATOWAUG. 29, 2014

Like most New Yorkers who live in close quarters, tenants in mixed-income buildings rarely socialize beyond a polite nod of the head or a brief wave. And while they may live in the same neighborhood, they tend to patronize different stores — Mr. Omar, for example, does his food shopping at Western Beef, a grocery store on West 16th, where prices are a far cry from the $5 iced coffees at the Chelsea Market across the street.

Yet while they may not overlap often, there is occasional friction between the two groups. At the Westminster, for example, Mr. Amico said he has heard some grumbling about the tenants hanging out in the lobby, and notices have been posted reminding residents of proper lobby etiquette, although a spokeswoman for the building’s owner, the Related Companies, said she knew of no complaints.

For Mr. Deese, who is African-American and stands at an imposing 6-foot-1, there have been some uncomfortable moments. He and a friend were walking out of Mr. Deese’s apartment and down the hallway when a white neighbor, seeing them approach, “slammed her front door, locking all the locks,” he said. “It was ridiculous, because the door locks automatically when you close it, so no one ever uses the extra locks.”

Mr. Omar, who only just moved into the AVA High Line, is still a bit self-conscious of his status. “If there was a building-wide social event, like drinks or something, I would go, but I would want to bring a friend,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to show up and stand out, like, ‘Oh, there goes the low-income guy.’ ”

Matt Amico is a market-rate tenant of the Westminster, a mixed-income building on West 20th Street. If sharing space with people who have won a housing lottery isn’t O.K. with you, he says, “then you won’t go there.” Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times