Two-building project would create 217 units of affordable housing. On February 16, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved a proposal by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to allow Phipps Houses to develop a 217-unit mixed-use affordable housing project in the Melrose section of the Bronx. The site comprises ten lots on a block generally bounded by East 163rd Street to the north, East 162nd Street to the south, Melrose Avenue to the east, and Courtlandt Avenue to the west.

The project, known as Courtlandt Crescent, would include a seven-story building along East 163rd Street and Courtlandt Avenue that would follow the curve of those streets, and a ten-story L-shaped building with frontages along Melrose Avenue and East 162nd Street that would step down to seven stories along East 162nd Street. (more…)

Developer requested rezoning in order to build 68 units of affordable rental units in south central Bronx. On September 13, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved High Hawk LLC’s rezoning proposal to facilitate the development of an affordable housing project in the Crotona Park East section of the Bronx. The proposal would rezone a triangular block, bounded by East 174th Street, Hoe Avenue, and Boston Road, from C8-3 to R7-1 with a C2-4 commercial overlay. The block is occupied by a 16,876 sq.ft. parking lot owned by High Hawk, a three-story office building, and two low-rise retail buildings. High Hawk would replace the parking lot with an eight-story building providing 10,000 sq.ft of community facility space, 9,473 sq.ft. of ground floor retail space, and 68 rental units for low-income residents.

Bronx Community Board 3 supported the plan. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. also supported the rezoning, but expressed concerns about the the proposed building’s apartments. Diaz recommended that the developer reconfigure the “woefully small” apartments which, according to Diaz, included 385 sq.ft. studios, 590 sq.ft. one-bedroom units, 725 sq.ft. two-bedroom units, and 987 sq.ft. three-bedroom units. (more…)

Opponents claim Hunter’s Point South will not adequately address lack of affordable housing in Queens. On August 13, 2008, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Hunter’s Point South Redevelopment Plan. The plan aims to create an affordable, middle-income community and waterfront park on 30 acres of Long Island City waterfront.

Originally owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the City purchased the site in 2006 and assigned the New York City Economic Development Corporation to create a plan that would increase the affordable housing stock in Queens. In 2007, EDC announced a plan that included low-, mid-, and high-rise residential areas, 11 acres of open space, ground-floor retail, and approximately 5,000 new housing units, 60 percent of which would be affordable to middle-income families.

At the Planning Commission’s public hearing, an EDC representative stated that, out of all the major U.S. cities, New York City has the smallest number of middle-income families, and that the EDC plan, the largest affordable housing project in the last 30 years, will allow the City to prevent more middle-income families from being priced-out of living in Queens. Helen M. Marshall, Borough President of Queens, testified that without more affordable housing, City workers, who provide vital services and “represent an important part of our tax base,” will continue to leave the City. According to Marshall, EDC’s plan can help reverse that trend. (more…)

BFC Partners’ proposal calls for 160 co-op units. On February 13, 2008, the Planning Commission approved an application to construct a housing project in the Stapleton neighborhood of Staten Island. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development submitted the application on behalf of developer BFC Partners. The application calls for two, five-story, mixed-use buildings with 160 residential units to be located just west of the area that the New York City Economic Development Corporation plans to revitalize with a waterfront esplanade, hotel, and sports complex, and residential and retail space. 3 CityLand 149 (Nov. 15, 2006). Currently, the 75,619-square-foot site is occupied by a 128-space municipal parking lot and a one-story commercial building.

Under the proposal, BFC would build the development in two phases: the first phase would yield 90 residential units and 9,500 sq.ft. of ground-floor retail, the second phase 70 residential units and 6,300 sq.ft. of ground-floor retail. BFC would make all of the residential units affordable by taking advantage of New York City Housing Development Corporation financial incentives. (more…)

Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn housing projects approved; sent to Council. On March 28 and April 11, 2007, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development obtained Planning Commission approval for eight affordable housing projects, totaling 517 units, to be developed in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Two of the Bronx projects, including the 50-unit Fox Leggett Cooperative Apartments and the 162- unit Grant Avenue Cooperative Apartments, provide ownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families. Both of these projects also include community facility space and outdoor landscaped open space. (more…)