A building in Bronx, New York, which has been recognized as the birthplace of the hip-hop music genre, has been saved from a plan that would have made it too costly for current resident to remain there, reports the Associated Press.

Since last year, the legendary DJ Kool Herc has actively helped tenants oppose the building owner's plans to remove the building from an affordable housing program.

During the 1970s, Kool Herc helped birth what was later to be called "hip-hop," when he began spinning records at parties in the building's basement recreation room. Since then, hip-hop has become a worldwide phenomenon.

The 100-unit apartment building -- located at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue -- has been deemed eligible to be listed on national and state registers of historic sites.

The affordable housing program, known as Mitchell-Lama, offers owners incentives such as low-rate mortgages and tax breaks in exchange for charging tenants low to moderate rents for a certain period of time.

Sen. Charles Schumer told the AP that the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) rejected the proposed sale of the building to developer Mark Karasick because current renters would not be sustained if the sale had gone through.

"This very positive development is the first step toward preserving affordability" for all residences under New York's affordable housing program, Schumer said.

The decision now paves the way for tenants to negotiate directly with the owner. They are currently working on a plan to buy the building outright.

In January 2008, DJ Kool Herc and Schumer held a press conference where they unveiled a plan to acquire the community room at the address -- the exact birthplace of hip-hop.

The City of New York has been committed to preserving existing affordable Mitchell-Lama developments, and is working closely with the tenants of 1520 Sedgwick to assist them with the preservation proposal.