A rendering of Bartlett Crossing, Site A-2. Image Credit: NYC CPC.

On March 16, 2022, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for Bartlett Crossing Site A-2, one of the five buildings that comprises the larger affordable housing Broadway Triangle project. Broadway Triangle is an affordable housing development consisting of five buildings across four sites. Bartlett Crossing Site A-1 is located on Flushing Avenue between Harrison Avenue and Whipple Street. The other three sites, Site A-2, Site B and Site C are all located on different portions of the block consisting of Gerry Street to the north, Bartlett Street to the south, Harrison Avenue to the west and Throop Avenue to the east. The application before City Planning focuses on Site A-2, located at 29-31 Bartlett Street. 

Overall, the Broadway Triangle project will have 390 units of affordable housing, 21,000 square feet of landscaped open space, a 7,000 square foot workforce development center, 2,100 square feet of shared community center space, and a 1,300 square foot coffee shop that will feature youth employment programming. All buildings will be built to meet passive house design standards and feature rooftop solar arrays. 

Bartlett Crossing, which consists of Sites A-1 and A-2, will be developed together. Site B is currently in the planning phase, and Site C is set to begin construction this summer. Sites A-1, B, and C all previously went through the public review process in 2009. Site A-2, a City-owned site, is currently the only site under public review. 

Bartlett Crossing will have 78 units of affordable housing and one super’s unit. Site A-1 will have 49 units and Site A-2 will have 29 units. The units will be a mix between studios and one- to four-bedroom units at Site A-1 and studios and one- and two-bedrooms at Site A-2. Of the 79 units, eight will be reserved for formerly homeless households; eight units at 30, 40 and 50 percent area median income (AMI) each; 30 units at 60 percent AMI; and 16 units at 80 percent AMI. 

Formerly homeless households can expect to pay between $215 to $425 for rent. At 30 percent AMI, rent ranges from $412 to $618. At 50 percent AMI, rent ranges from $771 to $1,157. At 80 percent AMI, rent ranges from $1,311 to $1,966. 

Bartlett Crossing will have landscaped rear yards, community rooms, laundry rooms and bicycle storage. The ground levels of both buildings are elevated for flood resiliency.

To facilitate the construction of Site A-2, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is requesting a disposition of the City-owned property to allow the sponsor development team to take over. HPD is also seeking a Urban Development Action Area designation and Urban Development Action Area Project (“UDAAP”) approval, which will provide an up to a 20-year tax exemption from real estate taxes on the assessed value of the building. 

The development team consists of four Brooklyn-based non-profits, Los Sures, RiseBoro, St. Nicks Alliance and the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg (UJO). Mega Contracting Group, LLC will oversee the construction, and Magnusson Architecture and Planning will be the architect for the project. 

Both Brooklyn Community Board 1 and the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office issued favorable recommendations for the project.

At the public hearing, Commissioner Anna Hayes Levin stated, “It’s great to see these projects underway, it’s been a long time” since the Broadway Triangle project had first been approved during her first year sitting on the City Planning Commission in 2009.

No members of the public testified at the hearing.

The City Planning Commission will vote on this application at a later date.

By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)