16 FEBRUARY 14, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Barnwell seeks new meaning to aff ordable housing
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
2@QNS
A new bill being introduced
by Mas p e t h- b a s e d
Assemblyman Brian
Barnwell will address concerns of
housing developments that label
units as “affordable” when when the
surrounding community disagrees
— a trend which has made itself
apparent across the city.
Barnwell’s bill, if enacted, will
give community boards the
power to say 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 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 it’s
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
10 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.
The organized opposition to
the Target was continued by state
Sen. Jessica Ramos who took the
developer to the New York Supreme
Court on Jan. 10 on grounds that the
zoning laws prohibit big box stores,
saving space for only small, local
owned businesses.
Currently in the drafting phase,
Barnwell hopes to introduce the bill
in the coming months.
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
2@QNS
Bishop Mitchell Taylor and
Queensbridge residents
rallied on Monday to support
employment opportunities that the
online retail giant could possibly
provide to Long Island City and
beyond.
Taylor told reporters that negativity
from opponents of the proposal does
not represent the wants or needs of
NYCHA residents or the involvement
of their leaders in discussions about
Amazon coming to their community.
But more than anything, they spoke
out against perceived outsiders
stoking discontent within the confi nes
of the housing complex.
“I’m incensed when I see people from
Connecticut, from other boroughs,
from other places, convene upon
Queensbridge, knocking on doors
telling people because of Amazon,
because of this, you’re going to lose
your apartment,” Taylor said. “Let me
tell you something: if you’re concerned
about gentrifi cation, that happened 15
years ago … You cannot speak for us.
You haven’t lived here.”
Taylor’s roots in Queensbridge go
deep with his father, also a pastor,
first serving a northwest Queens
congregation in 1960 and Taylor
himself leading worship for 28 years.
He is a founder of Urban Upbound, an
organization which works to break
cycles that keep families in poverty and
serves on the Community Advisory
Committee for the implementation of
Amazon.
“We are negotiating. We are talking.
We are trying to fi gure out what is the
best possible outcome for the residents
of northwestern Queens and New
York City,” Taylor said. “Twenty-fi ve
thousand jobs, possibly 40,000 jobs
coming to this neighborhood and
we want to know how that’s going to
happen, how that’s going to benefi t our
residents. Nobody is cutting any deals
here.”
The bishop challenged the protests
of Donnelly Rodriquez, who spoke out
during the rally that 400 people had
signed a petition against Amazon over
the weekend.
“It’s amazing to me how people like
this don’t even live here and they want
to come to a press conference that
we’re trying have peacefully and they
want to heckle,” Taylor said. “We’re not
going to allow that to deter us. These
people don’t live here. They aren’t
from here. They probably moved here
two days ago.”
Claudia Coger, president of the
Astoria Houses Tenants Association
and a resident of 60 years, claimed
there had been misinformation
circulated through the NYCHA
complex in an effort to “stir up”
residents against Amazon, but that it
was her job as a community leader to
dispel rumors and hype.
“One of the things that bothers me
the most, is that people do not have the
correct information to take into the
community or they come in to stir up
people and force accusations, we’re not
going to stand for that,” Coger said.
April Simpson, the president of
Queensbridge Tenants Association,
said she was born in her parent’s bed
in the NYCHA development she still
calls home aft er 57 years.
“I’m not going to allow anyone to
come into my community and disrupt
and deny them the opportunity for a
better life,” she said.
A new bill introduced by state Assemblyman Brian Barnwell will address concerns
of housing developments that label units as “aff ordable” when when the
surrounding community disagrees.
Western Queens rallies in support of Amazon project
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