Poor Doors?

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A 'poor door' is a separate entrance in a housing development for those living in less expensive apartments. The term was coined by the local news site West Side Rag in August, 2013, where it was used to describe a new development on the Upper West Side of Manhattan that had separate entrances for market-rate and affordable-housing tenants. [1]

The practice, which may also include refuse, postal and parking facilities,[2] has been criticized for segregating the rich from the poor. Oliver Wainwright, writing in The Guardian in July 2014, presented a more nuanced view however, commenting that such attempts at segregation are not new, and that there would not be the same outrage if the housing was in separate buildings, nor would social housing tenants wish to pay the high service charges needed to provide the luxurious facilities sought by wealthier tenants. He quoted Michael Edwards, senior lecturer at the Bartlett school of planning at University College London, who said: "they [poor doors] are a symptom, not the problem".[2]

The poor door has been slammed shut.

Developers hoping to get tax breaks for building affordable housing in or near luxury buildings can no longer install a "poor door" to separate low-income tenants from those who pay market rates.

The New York state ban was passed Thursday as part of legislation that renewed the state's 421-a tax break program, Governor Andrew Cuomo's office confirmed to CNNMoney on Tuesday.

Related: 88,000 apply to get in this 'poor door'

The ban will not affect existing housing but will impact construction of new luxury buildings.

The "poor doors" installed in high-end buildings were previously allowed under a program created in 2009 by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed banning poor doors in May as part of his proposal for the renewal of the tax-break program