Lawmaker backs Alms House zoning change
But Scott-Childress doesn’t say if he favors or opposes an affordable housing project at the site
A city lawmaker says he favors a zone change that would help pave the way for a controversial affordable housing complex to be built at the former Alms House property.
But Alderman Reynolds ScottChildress, D-Ward 3, did not offer an opinion one way or the other about the project proposed by RUPCO, an affordable housing agency, at 300 Flatbush Ave.
In a telephone interview, ScottChildress said he will vote in favor of the zoning change.
“The question about 300 Flatbush currently before the Common Council has been blown out of proportion,” he wrote in a Facebook posting.
“The choice is relatively simple and narrow,” he said. “Is 300 Flatbush suitable for a multifamily facility? By law, the council can consider only the request that is before us.”
The Facebook posting came after Alderman Anthony Davis, DWard 6, said that he would vote
against the rezoning. Davis represents the area where the property is located.
More than half the total units at the project, known as Landmark Place, would offer support services to a mix of homeless populations with special needs, including veterans and frail or disabled seniors, RUPCO has said, and the housing would be open only to individuals 55 and older.
“I want to first state that I am not against affordable housing or RUPCO, (as) they provide a needed service for the community. But for this property, this location, I feel it would be more fiscally sound for the city of Kingston and all the people of the city of Kingston if it was rezoned for some type of commercial use,” Davis wrote in an email.
“Since the application proposed at this time is for rezoning this property as multifamily residential, I will be voting against this proposal at this time,” Davis wrote.
In a follow-up email, Davis said his view was “a reflection of the people who I represent on the council.” Both Davis and Scott-Childress are Democrats.
“I was elected to serve the people and advance their wishes on the council,” Davis said in the email, adding that he was not against affordable housing. “I grew up living in affordable housing and my mother lives in affordable housing, but I have an obligation to LISTEN to the broad base of people who elected me.”
Scott-Childress said the merits of the RUPCO proposal are not what lawmakers are being asked to determine. RUPCO has asked that the Common Council rezone the property to multi-family use.
“We cannot add in other choices, such as rezoning it commercial,” Scott-Childress said. “If a different company had put in a bid on the property during the years it was for sale, and then requested to rezone the property, we would equally be limited solely to the request in front of us.”
The time for dealing with the merits of the project will come later before the city’s Planning Board, Scott-Childress said.
“For those who do not like RUPCO’s proposed project for the site, there will be time later, if the rezoning request is granted by the Common Council, when the issue goes back before the Planning Board, to raise questions about whether a senior residence in that place is feasible,” ScottChildress said. “But, for now, questions and charges about jobs, taxes and commercial viability are, by law, inappropriate.”
Scott-Childress said there could be consequences if the property is not rezoned.
“I fear that if we do not rezone the property as requested, we will condemn the property at 300 Flatbush to never being developed — residentially, commercially, or otherwise,” he said.
In a telephone interview, Scott-Childress said he is sensitive to the feelings of neighbors who have, for the most part, objected to the rezoning and the project.
“I really feel for the people in the neighborhood because this is a big change and that is all the more reason why we have to be careful about following the process,” Scott-Childress said.
He added that, if the council does not stick to the rules, the entire matter could be decided by a judge and taken out of the hands of the local community.