The Wikipedia article on SPURA contains a section titled “Fact.” It is, in fact, the first section, and it reads as follows: “SPURA remains the largest tract of undeveloped New York City-owned land in Manhattan south of 96th Street. Deciding what the ‘appropriate redevelopment’ of SPURA would be has stalled the process and kept it undeveloped.” That’s it. That is the fact about SPURA. Or, rather, that was the fact about SPURA, as the City Planning Commission convened this morning and, having already waited five decades, wasted no additional time voting unanimously to approve the SPURA development plan after precisely zero minutes of debate. And so begins a new, almost certainly more lively era in Seward Park's history.
In its current iteration, the SPURA plan allows for 900 new apartments, half of which will be designated permanent affordable housing. It also allows for 600,000 square feet of commercial space, a new Essex Street market, a hotel, a park, and community facilities, according to The Lo-Down. One commissioner acknowledged that "not everybody has gotten what they want," but went on to laud the city, Community Board 3, community advocates, and the Department of Housing Preservation & Development for their commitment to "consensus and compromise."
· SPURA coverage [Curbed]
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