10 Barnwell bill would lead to more affordable housing
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEB. 17, 2019
BY MARK HALLUM
A new bill being introduced
by Maspeth-based
state Assemblyman Brian
Barnwell will address concerns
of housing developments
that label units as
“affordable” when the surrounding
community disagrees
— a trend which has
made itself apparent across
the city.
Barnwell’s bill, if enacted,
would give community
boards the power to stop developers
seeking Uniform
Land Use Review Procedure
(ULURP) applications
to build above current zoning
laws if the affordability
of the units do not meet at
least 60 percent of the area
median income (AMI).
“We have a situation
throughout the city, not just
in our district, where you
have developers who want to
up-zone to build high-rise luxury
condos. They say they’re
going to provide affordable
housing, but they don’t, so
they community boards vote
them down,” Barnwell said.
“Every single time community
boards vote them down,
through the ULURP process
that we have now, it gets approved...
The bill that we put
in place, anytime a developer
wants to rezone property that
will offer units that are 60 percent
of AMI or higher, if the
community board votes that
down, the project is done.”
Barnwell admits that 60
percent of AMI is still well
above what the average resident
in many communities
can afford, but its a start.
Widely discussed by
candidates for state office
in the 2018 election cycle,
one problem with affordability
was identified in
how AMI is generally calculated
to take into account
the cashflow of residents
across the region instead of
by Zip code.
“If the community
board votes it down, they
should not be able to build,”
Barnwell added. “If developers
want to build 40 percent
of AMI and actually
provide affordable housing,
then the normal ULURP
process applies.”
Currently, if a builder
submits a ULURP application,
it generally goes to a
land use committee vote
before a full board meeting.
This only counts as an advisory
vote, however, and may
not have influence over the
final decision with the City
Planning Commission.
In September, a development
under construction at
the time was listed on NYC
Housing Connect, a portal
for low income New Yorkers
to find apartments that meet
affordability standards, that
require potential renters to
meet an income of $77,178 to
$122,070.
A one-bedroom apartment
could cost a tenant up
to $2,251 per month.
The bill is keeping with
Barnwell’s re-election campaign
platform, in which
he said he would work to
address the AMI issue at
the state level and keep
his district, which covers
Woodside, Maspeth as
well as parts of Astoria,
more affordable in the face
of gentrification.
The Elmhurst community
faced off with developers
Sun Equity and Heskel
Group who had filed a
ULURP application with the
city in March 2018 to build
13 stories of affordable units
at an 82nd Street lot, above
the ten stories allowed as of
right under the zoning.
About 40 percent of the
units in the Elmhurst proposal
were projected to
meet an annual median income
of $61,000 which was
later lowered to $41,000 by
the developer after the application
was struck down
by Community Board 4’s
advisory vote.
Queens Neighborhoods
United opposed not only the
housing which they claimed
would displace many people
in the surrounding communities,
but they are still
fighting against the Target
slated for the retail section
of the development, even after
the builders abandoned
the effort to construct
any housing.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Flushing organization
Asian Americans for
Equality is one of three
local New York City recipients
to receive a Spectrum
Digital Education Grant to
enhance its digital literacy
in the Asian American
community.
AAFE will receive
$4,000 to train students in
its Youth and Family Program,
and to assist seniors
in the Flushing area in developing
digital skills. The
grant was announced at a
ceremony held at AAFE’s
office located at 35-34 Union
St. in Flushing.
Spectrum provides a full
range of services, including
Spectrum TV, video, and entertainment
programming,
Spectrum Internet access,
and Spectrum Voice.
“In our increasingly
technology-driven world,
the importance of digital
education and access to
digital resources cannot
be overstated,” said Rodney
Capel, vice president,
of government affairs at
Spectrum. “Through the
Spectrum Digital Education
Grant Program,
we partner with leading
community organizations
like Asian Americans for
Equality to help bridge the
divide and provide communities
in need with the
tools to grow and prosper
in the digital age.”
Asian American for
Equality and 22 other deserving
nonprofit organizations
— all in other
Spectrum markets across
the country — were chosen
from among more than 170
applicants as Spectrum
Digital Education Grant recipients
— part of an overall
$1 million commitment
by Spectrum to provide
digital education in the
communities it serves.
“Through our new
digital skills training program
in Queens, AAFE
will be able to create new
opportunities for hundreds
of low-income, immigrant
community members,”
said Jennifer Sun
and Thomas Yu, co-executive
directors of Asian
Americans for Equality.
“We’re excited about this
initiative, which will
train students in our
Youth & Family Program
to assist seniors and family
members in developing
their digital skills. AAFE
would like to thank Spectrum
for supporting our
community in Flushing.”
Spectrum Digital Education
grants support organizations
that help educate
families and seniors on
the benefits of broadband
and how to use it to improve
their lives. Through
the $1 million effort, Spectrum
will also provide
PSAs, workshops and other
technical assistance to
local nonprofits.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4526.
A new bill introduced by state Assemblyman Brian Barnwell will address concerns of housing
developments that label units as “affordable” when when the surrounding community disagrees.
Flushing nonprofi t receives $4K digital education grant
Asian Americans for Equality received a $4,000 Spectrum Digital Education Grant to enhance
its digital literacy in the Asian American community. Courtesy of AAFE