
142 South Portland Avenue. Image credit: Google Maps.
The 100% affordable housing development faced height and scale opposition by neighborhood residents. On April 11, 2018, the City Planning Commission heard proposals for the 142-150 South Portland Avenue Rezoning in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The rezoning is led by the Hanson Place Adventist Church, who seeks to develop a mixed-use residential building. The proposal will create a new 13-story building owned by the Church. The plan will also allow for commercial use on the ground floor. The applicants are represented by Sheldon Lobel P.C. (more…)
Two sites located at Hudson Yards will be used for future affordable housing development. On April 9, 2018, Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announced the release of a Request for Proposals that seeks qualified teams to develop two city-owned sites into mixed-use affordable housing developments. The sites are located in Hudson Yards in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhoods. (more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image Credit: New York City Mayoral Photography Office
New laws focusing on vacant land throughout the City aims at identifying and reporting lots and buildings that could be used for affordable housing. On January 8, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed two bills into laws that focus on how vacant land, both public and private, across the city could be used to further accelerate the production of affordable housing. The new laws will advance the Mayor’s Housing New York 2.0 plan to build 300,000 affordable homes in the City. The new laws will require the City and Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) to conduct a census-like report on vacant property throughout the City. (more…)

Project Rendering. Image Credit: CPC.
Two mixed-use buildings, containing 425 affordable residential units for families and seniors, will be developed in Soundview, Bronx. On October 18, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application for a zoning map and text amendment by the Park Lane Residence Company. This application will facilitate the development of two mixed-use buildings with 425 affordable housing units in Soundview, Bronx. The project area is bounded by Turnbull Avenue to the north, Lafayette Avenue to the south, Pugsley Avenue to the east, and White Plains Road to the west. (more…)

Current View of 1675 Westchester Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps
The City Planning Commission approved the development of a new 13-story building in Bronx River with 220 affordable housing units and retail space. On August 23, 2017, the New York City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application from the 1675 JV Associates, LLC for a zoning map and text amendment. The zoning map amendment will change the current residential district (R6) into a mixed-use district (R8A/C2-4), and the text amendment will establish a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area on the project site.
The site is currently home to a vacant one-story building, which the borough president described as a “community liability.” The rezoning will permit the development of a new, 13-story building with 220 housing units, 7,570 square feet of retail space, and 6,845 square feet of community facility space. The new building’s residents will enjoy a fitness center, a community room, a computer room, a children’s play room adjacent to a laundry room, an exterior terrace, a garden, and a 24-hour doorman and cameras for security. All 220 units will be affordable—available to households with an Average Median Income ranging from 30% to 100%. While the applicant intends to maintain all units as affordable, the proposed zoning text amendment would ensure that at least 30% of the units (66 units) will be permanently affordable under Option 2 for Mandatory Inclusionary Housing.
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