Join us for this informative event!
Have Questions? Please call 212-431-2306
Join us for this informative event!
Have Questions? Please call 212-431-2306
Rendering of Proposed Development. Image Credit: KPA Architects
City Council rejected the first private application of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. On August 16, 2016, the City Council rejected a proposal to rezone a large corner lot in order to construct a new mixed-use development located at 4650 Broadway in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood. Currently a two-story commercial building operating as a parking garage and U-Haul truck rental facility occupies the site. The original proposal from the developer, Acadia Sherman Avenue LLC, was to build a new mixed-use building that would have retail and community space on the bottom two floors, contain 335 residential units and rise 23 stories. The original project would have made permanent 30 percent of the floor area as affordable housing under the new Mandatory Inclusionary Housing law.
Architect rendering of the proposed Astoria Cove development project. Image Credit: Studio V
Approval came after negotiations increased the percentage of affordable housing. On November 12, 2014 the City Council Land Use Committee voted 18-0 to approve the Astoria Cove development project, with modifications. The vote was delayed several hours as negotiations between lead developer Alma Realty and Council Member Costa Constantinides continued into Wednesday afternoon over Astoria Cove’s housing affordability and other issues discussed in the initial hearing.
Long View Rendering of 126th Street and Citi Field. Image Credit: NYC EDC.
Council Member Julissa Ferreras praised for her successful efforts in the negotiations for a balanced transformation of the Valley of the Ashes. On October 9, 2013, the Land Use Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises voted unanimously to approve the Willets Point Development Project application. The application was a modification of the original 2008 Willets Point application. (See CityLand’s past coverage here). Before the Subcommittee vote, Council Member Julissa Ferreras gave a statement highlighting all of the items that were finalized after extensive negotiations with the City and developers.
Council Member Ferreras began by thanking everyone involved in this lengthy process, and stated that “this deal is a win for her constituents, a win for Willets Point, and a win for New York City.” Willets Point, known as the “Iron Triangle” or the “Valley of Ashes,” has gone “for years without many of the resources that the rest of the City has received, such as sanitation, paved roads, sewage, and flood drainage.” As a result of negotiations from this application, in addition to the 35% of housing dedicated to be affordable, the City has now “agreed to release a request for proposals for two lots of land” in and around her district to construct additional affordable housing. This will bring the total affordable housing number to just over 1,000 units. Council Member Ferreras noted that this is the largest dedication of affordable housing that Queens City Council District 21 has seen. (read more…)
Stephen Levin, District 33 Council Member. (Official NYC Council Photo by William Alatriste)
District 33 – Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, parts of Williamsburg, Park Slope, Boerum Hill
Council Member Stephen Levin grew up just outside of New York City, in Plainfield, New Jersey. He knew he wanted to be in Brooklyn even while he was attending Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. To get there though, he dabbled with various jobs including working as a waiter (he was fired), a book store clerk, and an artist’s assistant. About a year after graduation from Brown, he was living in Bushwick, Brooklyn and starting his political career, although maybe he didn’t quite know it at the time. He got his first advocacy experience at the Lead Safe House Program in Brooklyn, which gets children with elevated lead levels out of danger and into a safe space. Levin ran the program and worked with families and building owners from across the borough, as well as State and City agencies. He also helped families tackle various other issues, such as education and health, during their stay at the Lead Safe House. Seeing families through a sometimes difficult bureaucratic process, he couldn’t help but make the connection between government policy and effective direct service. It was here that he first thought that if the opportunity to actually conceive and implement good policies presented itself, he would take it.
On October 25, 2012, the City Council Land Use Committee voted in favor of both the West Harlem rezoning plan and the Chelsea Market expansion plan with modifications. (See CityLand’s past coverage here). The full City Council was originally expected to vote on these plans on October 30, 2012. However, Hurricane Sandy forced this vote to be delayed two full weeks.
Under the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), when City Council review is triggered, the Council has 50 days to act on an application approved by the City Planning Commission. If the Council does not modify the application, or does not disapprove of the application within that time period, the Council is deemed to have approved the decision of the City Planning Commission. On November 13, 2012, the City Council approved both plans with the modifications. Fortunately, this vote was held just before the 50-day review period was set to expire. What would have happened had Hurricane Sandy prevented the Council from modifying these plans? (read more…)
