NEW YORK, NY March 03, 2007 —Starrett City tenants are celebrating now that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has temporarily blocked the $1.3 billion sale of the apartment complex to Clipper Equity. But the process is not over yet. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports:

RODRIGUEZ: Tenants, politicians and city officials have been against the sale from the onset. And yesterday HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson said Clipper Equity had not proven it could finance and manage the property while keeping apartments affordable.

Jackson sounded as if his mind had been made up, but said the equity group would have a second chance to convince HUD that tenants would not be displaced. Clipper Equity plans to submit a more detailed bid and a spokesperson for the group of investors says they are committed to affordability.

The current owners, Starrett City associates, say they will wait to see what happens. HUD has a say in the sale because it subsidizes thousands of the apartments.

For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez