Phipps Houses’ Barnett Avenue affordable housing
project advances after City Council approves rezoing
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Phipps Houses’ controversial Barnett
Avenue affordable housing project
is moving forward after the City
Council unanimously approved its
rezoning on Thursday, March 25.
Phipps Houses, a nonprofit developer,
sought approval to rezone 50-25
Barnett Ave., which is currently a
parking lot, for a seven-story, 167-
unit, mixed-use residential complex
dedicated to low- and moderate-income
households.
Developers first introduced an application
for the location four years
ago, which soon withdrew after receiving
opposition from Sunnyside
residents and Councilman Jimmy
Van Bramer for reasons including
unaffordability, building height and
concerns with maintenance at the
Phipps Garden Apartments.
Phipps reintroduced an application
for the location last year with
some adjustments and has since received
the approval of Community
Board 2, Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards and Councilman
Van Bramer.
Community Board 2 approved
the rezoning with the condition that
Phipps Houses management work
with Phipps Garden Apartments’
Tenant Association to create a plan
to address the maintenance issues
tenants have reported for years (with
support of the condition from Richards
and Van Bramer).
Yet many community members
and tenants at Phipps Garden Apartments
vehemently opposed the new
application, citing Phipps’ questionable
maintenance and evictions track
record, possible displacement of local
businesses as well as skepticism of
the new development’s affordability,
among other concerns.
On Thursday, Van Bramer said
the “100 percent affordable” project
vastly improved from the one he
rejected four years ago, in his City
Council speech. He cited the project’s
many units at 40 percent area median
income (AMI), a maximum of 80 percent
AMI for other units, units set
aside for homeless families, building
heights now contextualized with the
neighborhood and 32BJ SEIU testifying
in favor of the project for good
jobs and wages.
“While some have used disingenuous
arguments against this project,
I will not deny homeless families
and low-wage workers a home by allowing
the perfect to be the enemy
of the good,” Van Bramer said. “We
who proclaim ourselves progressive
say we want to build truly affordable
housing, and when we get the chance
Rendition of Phipps Houses proposed project at Barnett Avenue. Photo courtesy of Phipps Houses
to do so we should — particularly in
expensive neighborhoods like Sunnyside.
We who say we are progressive
say we want to house the homeless,
and when we get the chance to do so,
we must. Everyone must be welcomed
in the Sunnyside/Woodside area that
I am lucky enough to call home. And
with this vote we have a chance to
say that emphatically. And those of
us who are progressive and say we’re
for the Green New Deal, should want
to replace a surface parking lot with
affordable housing, and not allow
NIMBY arguments to stop truly affordable
housing to be built on this
site.”
The council voted to approve the
project 49-0. Now it’s in the mayor’s
office for review.
On Saturday, March 27, a rally
against the project’s approval was
attended by more than 60 Sunnyside
residents, including four City
Council candidates running for Van
Bramer’s seat and Phipps Garden
Apartments Tenant Association Co-
President Gerald Perin, according
to the Queens Post. Organizers said
they’ll call on the mayor to block the
rezoning.
Prior to the City Council’s vote on
the project, Queens Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released
a statement calling on management
at Phipps Garden Apartments to address
the outstanding maintenance
issues reported by residential and
commercial tenants after their deadline
of March 1 expired.
“Phipps Houses made a commitment
to the community that they
would promptly address the maintenance
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | APRIL 9-APRIL 15, 2021
issues at Gardens Apartments,”
Ocasio-Cortez stated. “Their
failure to do so is upsetting and they
have an obligation to the community
to follow through on the required action
plan set by Community Board
2.”
A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez
clarified that Ocasio-Cortez does not
oppose Phipps’ new rezoning, but is
supporting advocacy groups by holding
Phipps accountable for needed
repairs.
Van Bramer told the Queens Post
he agrees with Phipps Houses obligation
to tenants, but that it didn’t
change his position on the Barnett
Avenue rezoning.
In response, Phipps Houses President
and CEO Adam Weinstien said
they’ve developed a plan with the tenant
association and are on track to
meeting the repairs.
“Phipps Houses developed a plan
with the tenant association, and not
only do we remain committed to that
plan, we are ahead of schedule in fulfilling
its agreed-upon 30-, 60- and 90-
day milestones. We have been keeping
tenant leadership and all elected officials
apprised of progress. We would
welcome updating the congresswoman
if she is interested,” Weinstein
said. “As the largest nonprofit affordable
housing and social services provider
in New York, Phipps takes our
relationship with our residents very
seriously, and we look forward to
completing our work at Phipps Garden
Apartments, as well as breaking
ground on 167 new affordable apartments
across the street.”
Dorothy Cavallo, longtime resident
of Phipps Garden Apartments
and co-president of the tenant association,
told QNS that management is
“gradually” getting to the plans.
Cavallo, who’s lived in the complex
for more than 50 years, said that due
to the property being “neglected” for
many years, it will take time to address
issues like recycling and trash
build up, water leaks, cockroach and
rodent infestation, tree pruning and
concrete eroding, among others.
“There’s been a lot of deterioration
through the years,” Cavallo said.
“A quick fix isn’t going to take care
of it.”
Cavallo said one of their immediate
concerns is a lack of adequate
staffing to maintain the large complex,
as she said they have been short
of at least two porters for months.
When reviewing the current plans,
she said they don’t seem to be on track
for having a full staff within their 60-
day plan, although they hired one
porter who started in January.
Cavallo said that while they’re
having monthly meetings with management
since November, they are
still concerned about “loosey goosey
oversight.”
She added that they remain concerned
about the Barnett Avenue rezoning
not only because of the disruption
a new development will cause,
but also because of their experience
with Phipps as a landlord.
“We’re in favor of affordable housing,
we know the issues, but when
we have a landlord who cannot keep
up or maintain what was the jewel of
Phipps properties … it’s hard to see,”
Cavallo said.
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