A new audit from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is putting fresh scrutiny on Clinton Towers, the huge Mitchell-Lama development on 11th Avenue (bw W54/55th St) that has long served as a lifeline for middle-income New Yorkers trying to stay in Hell’s Kitchen.
The report, released this month, examined physical conditions and financial oversight at three Mitchell-Lama developments citywide — and found multiple issues at Clinton Towers that auditors say should have been caught earlier, including a rodent problem in a daycare center, long-stalled common-area renovations, apartments left vacant for months, and spending that auditors described as unrelated to normal building operations.
Mitchell-Lama is one of New York’s most enduring affordable housing tools, created in 1955 to support middle-income rental and cooperative apartments with government incentives in exchange for affordability rules. (It even had a brief pop-culture moment last year after Hell’s Kitchen-born actor Timothée Chalamet gave it a viral shout-out while promoting a movie.)
DiNapoli’s auditors made several site visits to Clinton Towers between August 2024 and January 2025 and documented conditions they described as hazardous. During a December 2024 visit to commercial space in the building, they reported unsafe conditions in a daycare while children were present — including ceiling discoloration that appeared linked to a leak, and mouse droppings on classroom floors, in a book closet and on traps placed under radiators. The report notes that daycare employees described an ongoing infestation and warns that rodents pose serious health and safety risks in a childcare setting…