Danny Mallon will be in this on West 87th Street:
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The NYC Economic Development Council is proposing an 850-unit market-rate development at 150 West 100th Street, with a new Bloomingdale library on the first two floors.
Many in the neighborhood have concerns and some of us have published this letter.
To:
Community Board 7's Housing & Land Use Committee
Councilmember Shaun Abreu
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine
Manhattan Borough President-elect Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal
Assembly Member Micah C. Lasher
Economic Development Corporation
NY Public Library
Many people in the community are thrilled that there will be more affordable housing in the neighborhood with the proposal to build a new library under apartments at 150 West 100th Street. We are YIMBY - Yes to Affordable Housing in My Backyard!
The Bloomingdale project will be one step toward remedying the ongoing loss of affordable housing.
Over 345,000 units of affordable housing have been lost throughout New York City over the past two decades creating the affordable housing crisis we now confront. In this neighborhood alone:
Park West Village’s 2500 units were built to provide affordable housing. But four of its seven buildings were removed from rent stabilization to create condos, and the remaining three buildings have suffered extensive deregulation.
In former pre-1974 Mitchell-Lamas, which were 100% affordable, like those at 765 Amsterdam Avenue, 50 West 97th Street (Central Park Gardens), 120 and 160 West 97th Street and 135 West 96th Street, 95 West 95th Street, 70 West 95th Street, 50 West 93rd Street, and 70 West 93rd Street, 733 Amsterdam - as well as Park West Village - hundreds of apartments were deregulated through vacancy decontrol or combining units, when those tactics were still legal. Additional apartments have been disappearing through illegal decontrol.
In Mitchell-Lamas built after 1973, such as Glenn Gardens at 157 West 87th Street, removal from the M-L program meant virtually complete loss of affordability.
Hundreds of affordable apartments –including at Park West Village’s three rental buildings and in all the former Mitchell-Lamas–are being warehoused as landlords use their rental income to buy other buildings rather than make the basic repairs needed to put the empty rent-stabilized units back on the market.
There has been a great deal of construction - such as Columbus Square and the Extell Ariel buildings. But virtually all the new buildings (with the exception of a single affordable unit at 250 West 96th Street on Broadway) are fully market-rate.
This is a problem that the government created and that we must solve together. [Click on "read more"]
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CHANGE TO THIS |
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All zoning changes must be approved by the City Planning Commission (7 members appointed by mayor, 5 appointed by borough presidents) & the City Council. The Board of Standards and Appeals (all mayoral appointees) may issue zoning variances for some specific sites with strict standards. |
Proposal 2: Cut out the City Council for A. Zoning changes that ease 100% affordable housing (like low-income co-ops). B. Zoning changes in the 12 community districts that produced the least affordable housing in the last 5 years, to ease production of housing with Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning (about 20% affordable at different levels). FOR: Council members in outer boroughs can’t stop affordable housing. New housing with 20% affordability will not just be in poorer neighborhoods. The City can more easily upgrade for climate change. AGAINST: Council members lose power to negotiate better deals for neighborhoods. Housing built in 12 districts will only be 20% affordable, and not clear at what level.
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All zoning changes must be approved by the City Planning Commission and City Council |
Proposal 3: Cut out the City Council for · Zoning changes allowing up to 30% more floor area in medium- and high-density districts like ours. · Zoning changes to permit climate resilience (such as sewage, solar) FOR: Easier for the City to do more climate projects, and to put in more density – which means more housing, which might mean less scarcity. AGAINST: None of these developments must be affordable, not even including Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (about 20% affordable at varying levels). So taller buildings may mean more affordability but it could also mean larger condos!
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City Planning Commission OKs => City Council Oks => Mayor may veto => City Council can override |
Proposal 4: Create Aff. Housing Appeals Board Mayor + Boro Pres + Council Speaker. Any two can override Council or (if Proposals 2 and 3 pass) the City Planning Commission vote. This could only be overridden by going to court.
FOR: This eliminates one clog in the development pipeline if you’d like to see a lot more development. AGAINST: This cannot be overridden by a Council vote. You’d have to go to court. This does not eliminate corruption. |
FOR: More people come out to vote for Congress and President, so more people will vote altogether. Right now, only about a quarter of voters vote in the mayoral election.
AGAINST: Ballots will be a lot longer, and voters won't be able to pay attention to city issues.
