The City Council holds an oversight hearing on NYCHA’s public-private partnership agreement. Image credit: CityLand

NYCHA Chairwoman Shola Olatoye answered questions on the Triboro Preservation Partners agreement.  On February 10, 2015 the City Council Committee on Public Housing held an oversight hearing on Triborough Preservation Partners, a public-private agreement between the New York City Housing Authority, L+M Development Partners, and BFC Partners. The venture was designed to rehabilitate six of NYCHA’s Section 8 properties containing nine hundred units: Bronxchester Houses, Saratoga Square, Campos Plaza, Milbank-Frawley, East 4th Street, and East 120th Street.  Under the terms of the agreement, L+M and BFC own a fifty percent stake in the properties over the next thirty years.

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The property tax exemptions will affect seven buildings in Brooklyn Community Board 16. Image credit: Department of City Planning

Dean Atlantic HDFC received property tax exemption for seven buildings.  On August 21, 2014, the City Council voted 47-0 to approve an Article XI property tax exemption on seven buildings owned by the Dean Atlantic Housing Development Finance Corporation.  The Department of Housing Preservation and Development requested the exemption from the City Council on Dean Atlantic’s behalf.  The buildings are all in Brooklyn Community Board 16, covering the Ocean Hill and Brownsville communities.  Six of the buildings are located in an area bounded by Atlantic Avenue to the north, Dean Street to the south, Rockaway Avenue to the west and Eastern Parkway to the east.  The seventh building is located further south at the corner of Park Place and Saratoga Avenue.  The buildings are either  two-or three-stories for a total of twelve residential units, with five of the buildings featuring a commercial space on the ground floor.  The residences are two- and three-bedroom units.

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Rendering of Rheingold Development as seen from Bushwick Avenue and Forrest Street, Brooklyn. Image Courtesy of Forrest Lots, LLC.

Controversial Bushwick development project questioned on affordable housing goals in public hearings. On December 10, 2013, the full City Council voted 48-1 to rezone six blocks in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in order to allow the development of ten mixed-use developments. The rezoning area is bounded by Bushwick Avenue, Flushing Avenue, Melrose Street, Stanwix Street, and Forrest Street.  Council’s Committee on Land Use voted 18-1 and Land Use Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises unanimously voted 10-0 to approve the project. Council Member Charles Barron voted in the negative at the Stated Meeting and Land Use Committee meeting, citing concerns about housing affordability. (more…)

Image: Courtesy of Chris Benedict, R.A.

Brooklyn apartment building will comply with “Passive House” standards designed to dramatically reduce energy costs. On April 29, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s proposal to allow the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council to build an energy-efficient, affordable apartment building at 803 Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The six-story building, known as Knickerbocker Commons, will provide 24 dwelling units, affordable to households earning between 30 and 60 percent of area median income; a senior citizen center; recreation space; and seven parking spaces

The project, designed by architect Chris Benedict, will be the country’s first apartment building to conform to the strict “Passive House” design standards created in Germany and expected to be adopted by the European Union in the near future. (more…)

Western Beef Supermarket Rendering Image Credit: City Planning

Council Member Richards makes sure developers keep promises. On October 3, 2019, City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on Rockaway Limited Partnership’s application to redevelop the former Peninsula Hospital site into “Edgemere Commons.” The proposed development is located in Far Rockaway Queens, north of Rockaway Beach Boulevard, south of Beach Channel Drive east of Beach 53rd Street and west of Beach 50th Street.

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