City Council approves Sunset Park library's affordable housing addition

A plan to redevelop the Sunset Park library into affordable apartments with a new library at the base has been approved by the City Council this week, Politico has learned.

In November last year, the community board representing the neighborhood also gave its seal of approval to the project that will bring 49 affordable units to 5108 Fourth Avenue.

The project has been in the works since 2014 and is a collaboration between the Brooklyn Public Library and the Fifth Avenue Committee. Now that this project has cleared the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), the Fifth Avenue Committee will buy the library site from the city, construct the residential section and the new library, and then return ownership of the library back to the city.

In the meantime, the Sunset Park Library will relocate to a courthouse in the neighborhood, which comes with about 5,000 square feet of space.

The library at the new eight-story development will span 21,000 square feet, and rents on the affordable units above will start from $532 per month for a studio and go up to $1,272 per month for a three-bedroom.

The City Council unanimously approved the project and the City Council member representing the area, Carlos Menchaca expressed his excitement about the same on twitter.

• Sunset Park library redevelopment will include 49 affordable apartments [Curbed]
• Sunset Park library redevelopment wins community’s support [Curbed]
• Sunset Park Library's Transformation To Rentals Is Getting Closer To Reality [Curbed]