NEW YORK—Affordable housing and a school top the wish list for residents interested in a six-acre development site on the Lower East Side that was cleared 43 years ago.
The site, currently a bunch of car parks and vacant lots at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge, is set to become a 1.65 million-square-foot, mixed-use, mixed-income development.
The current project plan includes 900 apartments: 50 percent of which are slated to be affordable housing and 50 percent will be at market price. Retail and other commercial use is planned, as well as neighborhood amenities. No schools are in the current plan.
The city is driving the project in conjunction with the department of housing and the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The majority of the stakeholders at a City Hall hearing on Sept. 19 are hoping to see the project pass in an upcoming council vote as part of the land-use review process. The mayor would then give final approval and developers would be invited to submit proposals.
How Much Affordable Housing?
The percentage of affordable housing units seems to be the main bone of contention in the community.
The Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side has collected 5,000 petitioners who oppose the current plan.
The coalition is pushing for 100 percent affordable housing, through developer Ben Wong, to help solve a severe shortage of affordable units in the area.
“There are 3 families, 10 people living in 300 to 400 square feet of space. That’s really not right,” said Wing Lam, 62, director of the coalition. “It’s very common in our community.”
Ann Olanda Donato, a member of the coalition, has seen many changes since she moved to the area in 1974.
“They raise the rent too much,” said Donato. “I don’t want to move ‘cause I grew up here. My kids, my grandkids are here.”
Ready to Move Forward
Ella Leitner grew up in the area and is now a young mother who lives in cooperative housing on Grand Street. She said the derelict site creates security and aesthetic concerns and wants to see something done.
“I think that the plan that has been put on the table is fair for everybody,” Leitner said of the city’s plan. “I certainly would love to see more affordable housing; I think that is what the character of this neighborhood is based around.”
Councilwoman Margaret Chin said the most effective use of the land for the community’s needs is via affordable housing, homes for seniors, and an affordable incubator space for startup businesses, especially in creative industries.
“This is where creative minds want to be,” she said.
Chin expressed her commitment to permanent affordable housing and will support developers who propose more affordable housing that will be built first.
She objected to the inclusion of a hotel on the site. “Our hotel market is already oversaturated and hotels are sitting half-built,” she said.
New Life
The Seward Park Mixed-Use Development project is predicted to provide approximately 1,000 construction jobs and upward of 5,000 permanent jobs, said Alyssa Konon, executive vice president of the EDC.
In 1965, the Seward Park Extension Urban Renewal Area (SPEURA) was created with the intention of developing both commercial and housing space. The existing housing was cleared to make way for development, leaving residents to find new accommodation. Only a small portion of the plan went ahead, leaving the majority of the site to later become car parking.
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