The fight over affordable housing in New York is coming to a head in Starrett City. Here's a starting point on the players and where they stand.

Starrett City is home to 14,000 people and includes 46 towers, 5,881 apartments, schools, churches, synagogues, a shopping center, post office and power plant over 140 acres on Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn.

David Bistricer leads the development group that want to buy Starrett City for $1.3 billion. With a price tag that high, analysts agree that Bistricer intends to make his money back by converting Starrett City to luxury condos.

Starrett City's residents can expect an immediate rent hike of $200 a month if the sale goes through, triggered by Bistricer opting out of the state's Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program.

Starrett City residents can also expect lower maintenance: Bistricer's Flatbush Gardens property in Brooklyn has 8,792 housing violations, including 1,800 violations in the last 18 month.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson has the power to reject the deal.

Senator Chuck Schumer has called on Jackson to do just that:

"Experts across the board agree: it will be impossible for someone paying this price not to convert the units into high-price rentals or ritzy condominiums. Without question, a sale at this price will change the character of Starrett forever."

The state of New York holds the mortgage on Starrett City, so Governor Spitzer can step in. From the AP:

New York's new Democratic governor, Eliot Spitzer, who campaigned on the promise that he would protect the working class, is another powerful tenant ally -- with leverage.

State officials hold Starrett's $234 million interest-free mortgage and can approve or reject any new owner.

New York City's Mayor and City Council will also get a say before luxury housing gets built. From the same AP article:

And development of vacant land on the site -- another buyer draw -- also requires state and city approvals.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has pledged to enforce a 1998 court order barring Bistricer from converting rental buildings to condos or co-ops because of "financial improprieties."

That's still not a complete list, but it's a start with more to come.