The New School hosted a panel on affordable housing and historic preservation, featuring (l. to r.) Rachel Meltzer, Nadine Maleh, Harvey Epstein, Rosie Mendez, and Gale Brewer. Image credit: The New School

Elected officials, affordable housing advocates, and preservationists speak on historic preservation’s impact on New York City’s affordable housing shortage. On September 16, 2014, The Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School hosted a panel discussion on New York City’s affordable housing shortage and historic preservation. The discussion was co-presented by the Historic Districts Council and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The panel featured Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Rosie Mendez, Harvey Epstein, Director of the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center, Nadine Maleh, Director of the Inspiring Places program at Community Solutions, and Rachel Meltzer, Assistant Professor of Urban Policy at The New School. The discussion was moderated by Andrew Berman, Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

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Diagram of rezoning area in the Special Clinton District in Manhattan. Image credit: CPC.

Council-approved developments in Special Clinton District will achieve 39 percent affordability across a range of Area Median Incomes. On June 26, 2014, the City Council unanimously voted 48-0 to approve applications which would facilitate the development of two new mixed-use buildings, the rehabilitation of another building, and creation of three new community gardens in the Special Clinton District in Manhattan. The joint applications were proposed by the Clinton Housing Development Company, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Taconic Investment Partners and Ritterman Capital. The project area is generally bounded by West 51st Street and West 53rd Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues.

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Sunset Park Rezoning used with permission of NYC DCP. All rights reserved.

This article was originally published on 10/15/2011 (see below for update).

Dissent argued that City only belatedly added consideration of rezoning’s impact on low-income residents. In April 2009, the Department of City Planning proposed a 128-block contextual rezoning of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Planning sought to preserve the residential neighborhood’s built character while allowing new construction at a height and scale consistent with existing development. The proposal called for establishing height limits, mapping new commercial overlays to allow a wider range of uses, and applying the inclusionary housing program along certain corridors to encourage the creation of affordable housing and allow increased residential development. After conducting an environmental assessment, Planning determined the rezoning would have no significant adverse impacts and issued a negative declaration. Residents and community groups opposed to the plan claimed that Planning had not adequately considered the rezoning’s socio-economic impact, and argued that it would lead to the displacement of low-income residents. The City Council approved the plan in September 2009.

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Tenants in loft law units sought rent regulation protection based on 2010 amendments. 59 Crosby Street in Manhattan was an interim multiple dwelling covered under the 1982 loft law. This law required an owner to convert an interim multiple dwelling building into legal residential premises and obtain a certificate of occupancy. The owners of 59 Crosby in 1984 purchased the rights and improvements to the fifth-floor interim multiple dwelling unit from the then-current tenant. In 1992 the owners purchased the rights and improvements to the second-floor interim multiple dwelling unit, also from the then-current tenants.   (more…)

Local Council Member and residents supported the proposed 248-block contextual rezoning, but two property owners requested modifications. On March 24, 2010, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of City Planning’s contextual rezoning plan for Astoria, Queens. The 248-block study area is generally bounded by 20th Avenue to the north, Broadway to the south, Steinway Street to the east, Vernon Boulevard and the East River to the west, and is divided by the Grand Central Parkway. The proposal builds on three smaller rezonings adopted in the area between 1989 and 2001.

The majority of the area’s northern blocks are currently zoned R5 and characterized by two- and three-story rowhouses and semi-detached homes with consistent building heights and front yards. The area’s southern blocks are predominantly zoned R6 and characterized by large prewar apartment buildings between three and seven stories tall. There are no established height limits in R6 zoning districts, and the maximum FAR for residential uses is 2.43 while community facility uses are permitted to build up to a maximum of 4.8 FAR. As a result, the area has recently experienced development out-of-scale with the neighborhood’s built character. (more…)