Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing the new partnership at a press conference on July 30, 2014. Image credit: NYC.gov

Partnership announced to establish a $350 million fund to support affordable housing throughout the City. On July 30, 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott M. Stringer announced a partnership to establish a $350 million fund to support affordable housing throughout New York City. The new financing was raised through the support of Citi, the New York City Retirement Systems, the New York City Housing Development Corporation, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions including Deutsche Bank and Bank of America. (read more…)

Developer testified to the great cost of converting buildings to housing. On June 26, 2007, Landmarks held its first hearing on the potential designation of three 1884 buildings within the former Domino Sugar Processing Plant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The plan received overwhelming support.

Among those in support included representatives from the development team that plans to convert the plant to a mixed-use complex containing 2,200 units of housing, 660 of which would be reserved for affordable housing.

Michael Lappin from the Community Preservation Corporation, and the project’s architect and contractor, testified that the buildings posed a greater challenge to convert than many other loft buildings. The buildings’ structural support rests on brittle cast-iron columns that no longer provide sufficient support for the original structure. If the construction team were to retrofit the original beams, 50 percent of the interior space would be lost to a new support system. The only remaining option would be to gut the interior, maintaining only the facade. (read more…)