The city is pushing forward to develop the land it owns in Brooklyn’s Broadway Triangle Urban Renewal Zone.
Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop a series “mixed-use affordable housing developments” on one or more of the three sites included in the city’s part of the Triangle.
According to a statement from the city, “Sites included in this RFP had been subject to litigation between the City of New York and a coalition of community groups that was settled on December 5, 2017. Proposals should reflect the applicable terms of that Court-ordered settlement agreement.”
Under the settlement filed in December, a new plan will provide for 375 affordable apartments on the city-owned land, more than double the original plan.
The city also vacated previous development awards to the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council and the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg.
The settlement followed eight years of wrangling over the affordable housing components of the Broadway Triangle development.
The community coalition partnered with the NYCLU in 2009 to file a suit against the Bloomberg administration contending that the proposal had racial bias by providing affordable apartments in a predominantly white area.
Issuing the RFP last Friday, HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “After many years, we are pleased to push forward in planning for the future of this site as affordable housing for New Yorkers at a range of incomes and family sizes. We look forward to reviewing proposals that will create a long-term asset for the surrounding neighborhood.
“Unlocking the development potential of our remaining public sites is critical to confronting the city’s affordability crisis,” the commissioner said.
The development area in the RFP offers nearly 70,000 s/f across three sites:
Site A consists of two distinct sites, an approximately 9,500 s/f site along Flushing Avenue and an approximately 5,000 square foot site along Bartlett Street.
Site B consists of 27,000 s/f along Bartlett and Gerry Streets.
Site C consists of 27,000 s/f along Throop Avenue between Bartlett Street and Gerry Street.
The RFP notes that development plans must create permanent affordable housing for 100 percent of the units and adhere to the Extremely Low & Low-Income Affordability (ELLA) Term Sheet.
The deadline for submissions to the RFP will be October 1, 2018.
