Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

As the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan (AAMUP) proceeds, Council Members Crystal Hudson and Chi Ossé are calling for far more affordable housing than currently contemplated in the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone blocks around Atlantic between Vanderbilt and Nostrand avenues for higher-density residential use. Speaking at a Department of City Planning (DCP) online meeting—a preliminary one—on Oct. 17, both Council Members suggested that publicly-owned sites be used for 100% affordable housing, that some private buildings contain 50% affordable units, and that the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) be revised toward deeper affordability, at lower percentages of AMI, or Area Median Income. That implies some combination of, potentially, more public subsidy/contribution, greater density, and more requirements of developers, who are gaining the enormous benefit of new allowable bulk. They spoke at a meeting seeking comments on the scope for the rezoning’s e...

At a charged and sometimes chaotic three-hour meeting, the Brooklyn Community Board 8 Land Use Committee on Sept. 7 refused to endorse the proposed spot rezoning of 962 Pacific Street in Crown Heights until the applicant agreed to increase both the unit count and affordability of the proposed below-market "affordable" housing. Their goal: 30 deeply affordable units at 40% of AMI, plus 8 units at 60% of AMI and 15 units at 80% of AMI, totaling some 35% of the proposed 150-unit building. Whether that's viable remains unclear. The vote set up a week of behind-the-scenes revisions in likely not just the proposed building's affordability but also its configuration and total unit count. The applicant should deliver an updated proposal before CB 8's full board meeting this Thursday, Sept. 14.  Success would allow applicant Nadine Oelsner of HSN Realty to build-- if financing's available--or simply attract investors ahead of the broader Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan...