In Bisnow, Hudson opposes spot rezonings, citing affordability & infrastructure issues. But two Atlantic Ave. projects now embrace deep affordability. Still, a neighborhood rezoning could do more.

See collected coverage of M-CROWN rezonings: click here.

There are some gaps in the real-estate publication Bisnow's article yesterday, Decrying ‘Developer’s Playground,’ New NYC Council Members Pump Brakes On Projects.

While the article cites fights in Harlem and in Astoria, it gives center stage to 35th District Council Member Crystal Hudson, complete with photo.

One gap: it presents Hudson's posture on the pending 870-888 Atlantic Ave. and 1034-1042 Atlantic Ave. proposals incompletely, reporting that she told the City Planning Commission in January that the projects should go back to the drawing board.

Since then, as I wrote in my overview article, she told the City Council she had "deep concern" and, pressed by Streetsblog in a developer-friendly article, said, “I don’t know how I’m going to vote yet.” So that indicates some wiggle room.

About affordability

A second issue regards her posture toward affordability. From the article:

“New York City has been a developer's playground for a very, very long time,” Hudson said in an interview with Bisnow this month. “An opportunity for the residents of New York with the greatest needs to be prioritized shouldn't be a scary thing.”

Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (2016 income levels)

What she means is unclear. 

In the case of both pending projects, Community Board 8 has gotten the developers to commit--provisionally, pending a separate agreement--to Option 3 under the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing.

That's 20% of the total units at the deep affordability option: 40% of Area Median Income (AMI).  

So that meets the "deeply affordable" goal Hudson cites elsewhere in the article. Today that means individuals earning up to $33,440 and four-person households earning up to $47,720, as indicated in the screenshot below right.

That goes beyond the board's original targets of Option 1, at 60% of AMI, given the goal of reaching those most vulnerable to displacement. (Because Option 3 must be paired with Options 1 or 2, it cannot be mandated by City Council.)

From HPD

So it's unclear, at least with these specific spot upzonings, what further tools are available to prioritize those with the greatest needs. 

And such rezonings along Atlantic Avenue are clearly lucrative enough for the developers to downsize their plans slightly and commit to deeper affordability. 

A neighborhood rezoning: affordability

That said, members of the Crown Heights Tenant Union, among others, oppose the pending rezonings on the grounds that, whatever the increase in overall supply and supply of low-income units, it would cascade impacts on rent-stabilized tenants nearby. 

Hence their support for a neighborhood rezoning, which would presumably include a broader array of tactics, as in other rezonings: as anti-displacement efforts, pursuit of affordable housing at city-controlled sites (with a larger percentage of affordability), rehab of existing housing to preserve affordability; and assistance to tenants and homeowners.

Meanwhile, YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) supporters of more density, echoing a New York Times op-ed about increasing housing supply, have criticized Hudson on Twitter.

A neighborhood rezoning: broader impacts

Another argument's been raised against such spot upzonings: their cumulative impact, as stated in a recent petition. From the article:

Hudson said she is pushing for City Planning and the Adams administration to commit to working with the community to create a comprehensive plan for the entirety of Atlantic Avenue. She said there are some 7,000 units in the pipeline for the corridor, with little consideration for what kind of pressure that would put on schools, transit and infrastructure.

That's the first time I've heard the "7,000 units" figure, which surely includes Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, and thus indicates that the pressure will be concentrated in that area.

At least 2,000 apartments are approved or expected via rezonings in the area known as M-CROWN, while, just to the west, Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, including the 798 units in the under-construction B12/B13, has another 4,010 units to go. (Add the 860 units at B4, which is in the process of opening, and 7,000 is in the ballpark.)

Map by Kaja Kühl; rezonings in light blue are pending; apartment counts, from Environmental Assessment Statement filings, include full areas rezoned, not just promised projects

However, the individual Environmental Assessment Statements (EASs) for each proposed new project do not address the cumulative impacts in the way a neighborhood rezoning would.

(The M-CROWN acronym refers to "Manufacturing, Commercial, Residential Opportunity for a Working Neighborhood," but it is rarely explained in CB 8 presentations.)

From the article: details and transparency

Bisnow didn't get the details right. From the article:

In Hudson's district, EMP Capital wants to build 210 rental apartments, with 25% set aside as affordable, at 1034-1042 Atlantic Ave., and Y&T Development wants to build 228 residences, with 69 units designated as affordable housing, at 888 Atlantic Ave., New York YIMBY reported in September.

Well, since then, Community Board 8 has negotiated--provisionally--deeper affordability at 20% of the total, with 1034-1042 Atlantic offering 40 affordable units, and 870-888 Atlantic offering 42 affordable units. 

(It's hard to keep up with. There's no business model for local journalism.)

From the article:

Both projects are represented by the same attorney, who didn't respond to a request for comment. Eli Pariente, a principal at EMP, declined to comment for this story.

It's notable that attorney Richard Lobel, who's successfully navigated several rezonings in the M-CROWN area, won't answer questions from the press. (He's ignored mine.) 

It's notable that Elie (as he's known) Pariente, who seems such a forthcoming presence at Community Board 8 meetings, won't comment to Bisnow.

Updated: And it's notable that Yoel Teitelbaum, the guy behind Y&T Development, has no website (unlike EMP Capital) and may be tought to find. As explained, he was something of a cipher, not appearing on camera or even speaking (as far I can tell) at CB 8 meetings, letting his architect and lawyer do the talking.

A p.r. offensive?

This is the second article in a week targeting Hudson as an impediment to progress, and, given that last week's Streetsblog article focused only on Pariente's project, I have to wonder--and, yes, this is speculation--whether it's part of a larger strategy.

Notably, Pariente in February hired high-powered lobbying firm Capalino & Associates for $12,000 a month, over three months, to get 1034-1042 Atlantic over the finish line. 

"Our firm’s engagement under the Agreement may include, but is not limited to, representation before NYC City Council Members Crystal Hudson, Rafael Salamanca and Kevin Rile[y], and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams," the letter states. 

So who knows what "not limited to" might encompass. (No, I didn't ask Pariente if the hiring of Capalino includes a media strategy, but, then again, he hasn't answered a question posed three weeks ago.)

The point is: there's big money at stake.

A plan for growth?

The Bisnow article closes with a quote from an urban planner who's generally pro-growth:

“Generally speaking, you know, the council members don't have a lot of ability to do anything other than be reactive,” Vice President for Housing and Neighborhood Planning at the Regional Plan Association Moses Gates said.

“I have a little bit of hope that maybe the council and the administration together can collaborate on a more comprehensive picture for housing growth that feels a little bit fair ... [and] a little bit more than just one-off negotiations that happen," Gates said. "But, I can't say I really see that coming. I see the dynamic really similar to the previous administration."

Well, in the case of Atlantic Avenue, the "dynamic really similar to the previous administration" is because the Department of City Planning has been steadily encouraging 17-story towers along Atlantic Avenue without engaging CB 8's call for the area rezoning it calls M-CROWN.

Now we'll see that, or another version of a neighborhood rezoning, gets momentum from Hudson.