Luxe a li’l slimy
Blaz: Nix affordable-unit plan, make NYCHA site fancy hi-rise
Mayor de Blasio is floating a plan to turn what was supposed to be 100% affordable housing built on public land into a huge tower of mostly luxury apartments in Manhattan.
For the last 13 years the city has promised to build 226 affordable apartments in a 16story building on what's now a NYCHA parking lot.
But on Monday, NYCHA and the mayor's office held a behind-the-scenes meeting with local officials to reveal a new proposal for a much bigger tower of 30 to 50 stories that would loom high above the adjacent NYCHA project, Harborview Terrace, located in Hell's Kitchen.
The new plan put forth by team de Blasio calls for at least 70% of the units to be marketrate apartments. Three of the four suggested plans would actually lower the number of affordable units. One plan would keep the originally suggested 226 affordable units but tack on another 527 market-rate apartments.
Under all these proposals, the NYCHA land would be leased for 99 years to a private developer to construct up to 753 units in a neighborhood where two-bedrooms now rent for $5,000 a month.
“It was out of the blue for me,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. “It was going to be 100% (affordable). I don't know where this came from.”
Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) said she was “deeply disappointed that the city is contemplating reneging on its agreement to create a new 100% affordable building in the heart of the Harborview community. These surprise proposals — which would result in far fewer affordable units or a super-tall tower — are not the option we worked on for at least a decade, nor are they representative of the needs or wants of our community.”
Brewer negotiated the original plan with the Bloomberg administration in 2005 as a member of the City Council as part of a deal with the Bloomberg administration to include affordable housing in the approval of the nearby Hudson Yards development that's exclusively high-end apartments and stores.
The project was repeatedly delayed, but as late as October when the de Blasio administration put out requests for proposals to developers, the 16-story 100% affordable plan was still on track.
The new plan unveiled Monday appears to run counter to de Blasio's mission of pushing for more affordable housing and instead addresses another problem he faces: raising funds for cashstrapped public housing. NYCHA estimates it needs $32 billion for repairs.
Monday's presentation stated that the original all-affordable plan would raise “minimal” funds for NYCHA, while the 70-75% market rate buildings would bring in “significant” funds, plus $40 million to fix up Harborview Terrace.
Questioned about the new plan, a mayoral spokesperson emphasized that “nothing is off the table” but also lamented disclosure of the plan to the Daily News.
“With a $32 billion unmet need and new leadership at the helm, nothing is off the table as NYCHA explores how to best raise much needed revenue for the authority,” said NYCHA spokeswoman Robin Levine. “We're engaged in good faith conversations with all stakeholders on a variety of issues and it's disappointing information was shared with the press instead of engaging in an actual productive dialogue with NYCHA on any proposals that may impact the communities they are supposed to represent.”
Brewer said all the participants in the meeting — including the Harborview tenant association president, Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal (DWest Side) and a representative of Rosenthal — unanimously objected to the new proposals, insisting that the project remain 100% affordable and not rise to 50 stories.
“We said no. We are sticking with the 200-something units, 16 stories. Period,” Brewer said. “I just don't think you reopen old promises. This is a project 100% (affordable) to compensate for the Hudson Yards. It's not a cash cow.”
NYCHA and the de Blasio administration are pushing to put up more housing on other NYCHA open spaces, but those buildings would all be 50% affordable and 50% market rate. To date developers have been picked for these projects in Holmes Towers on the Upper East Side and Wyckoff Gardens in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.