Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Carl Weisbrod, Chairman of the City Planning Commission, made some news yesterday talking about affordable housing. As reported by Capital New York, To top city official, housing crisis is a regional problem , Weisbrod conceded--as critics have long pointed out--that the de Blasio administration's plan to build 80,000 new units of affordable housing and preserve 120,000 more in ten years won't help all that much: “For all our efforts, even as we hit—even if we hit all our targets—we won’t fully solve the housing crisis in the next decade unless there is a radical change in federal housing policy—sadly, an unlikely occurrence,” Weisbrod said during a forum hosted by Crain’s New York Business. “So what else can we be doing? For one thing, we should be looking more broadly at the at the metro region.” His statements are an acknowledgement of an idea being pushed by several housing experts: That by looking just at the five boroughs and not considering the regional nature of hou...

Yesterday, Mayor Bill de Blasio made what many considered the safest choice, choosing city development veteran Carl Weisbrod to chair the City Planning Commissioner, rather than Commissioner Anna Hayes Levin or academic Vicki Been.  While Weisbrod will push for more affordable housing, how much he will push back on the real estate industry remains in question, given that, according to some reports, some of the mayor's supporters were not thrilled. One question is whether and how much Atlantic Yards will receive a boost, either speeding the subsidized housing or allowing a configuration with more, family-sized apartments, as Forest City originally promised.  From the New York Times,  De Blasio’s Pick for Planning Puts Focus on Housing : From its perch as overseer of New York City’s growth, the City Planning Commission has helped mayors put their own stamp on the landscape, whether with luxury Midtown towers or a revitalized waterfront. But Mayor Bill de Blasio...