Members of Brooklyn Community Board 2's Parks and Recreation Committee voted on Monday to okay modifications to the General Project Plan that will allow Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation to build affordable apartments in the developments coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6, Brooklyn Eagle reports. While the committee's approval is not the ultimate okay needed to move forward, it's still a step for BBPC in their quest to develop 430 339 apartments across two buildings on a BBPC-owned development parcel adjacent to the public parkland.
At the meeting, community board members focused on including low-income housing in the mix of affordable apartments. Numbers dug up by BE from the Housing Development Corporation show that as of this year, Brooklyn's median income for a family of four is $44,000. The community board rallied against BBPC, pointing out that figure. "At 80 percent, your lowest level, you're still talking $69,000, that's still above the price range for every borough," a CB member said. "Right now, low-income people have no apartments in this design," another CB member quipped. If BBPC's gonna add the affordable housing, they might as well really add it, right?
Another focus of the meeting was the language within the General Project Plan that community members perceive as giving BBPC a pass on their agreed-upon limits and commitments to building on Pier 6 in the future. An amended version of the GPP now states,
Notwithstanding anything else in the GPP, and without regard to Project finances...the Board of Directors of Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, the Brooklyn Bridge Park operating entity established by The City of New York, shall have the discretion to determine the number of affordability or residential units in each building and other characteristics of the building, including the types and location of community facility and retail uses, if any, consistent with the Technical Memorandum dated November 2014. Carolyn Ziegler, who's a lawyer and director of the Brooklyn Heights Association and its rep to the Parks Department's community advisory committee, rambled off a lengthy objection to the new text,
This modification, which you have been asked to vote on, gives the BBPC total discretion to do whatever it wants there… so long as it doesn't exceed these heights and the 430 units…that means they can recommend a developer to the board; they can even enter a contract with their board. But if during the design process they want to make changes, they have total authorization. You are giving them total authorization to do whatever they want on Pier 6 as far as housing goes. They could, in fact, decide…well maybe we can't afford the affordable housing…this land was supposed to be parkland. BBPC's plan will be presented to the full Community Board 2 at Wednesday's meeting.
· CB2 Committee approves Pier 6 Tower Plan on Brooklyn Bridge Park [BE]
· Brooklyn Bridge Park's Controversial Pier 6 Towers, Revealed [Curbed]
· Plan for Housing at Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 Still Hated [Curbed]
· Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6 Towers Will 'Almost Certainly' Rise [Curbed]
· All Pier 6 coverage [Curbed]
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