After the city rezoned Williamsburg, affordable housing was supposed to be built on the grounds of a NYCHA project there. Seven years later, ground has not been broken.
Malik Singleton looks at the many entities to blame for the stalled promises to build much needed affordable housing near rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhoods.
"Seven years ago, when the city rezoned the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods to permit high-rise, high-rent construction on the waterfront, affordable housing was part of the deal. Some 3,500 subsidized units were supposed to be generated through a set of programs—including an agreement by the New York City Housing Authority to construct a new affordable housing development on the 12-acre site of its Cooper Park Houses development."
"Today, high-rises have arrived on the banks of the East River. But nothing has happened at Cooper Houses, as conflicting opinions about what should be built and where have stymied any action."
"Now, as the city rebuilds in Sandy's wake and New York City's major agencies are forced to prioritize new projects related to rebuilding efforts, there is a risk that previously planned initiatives will stall indefinitely—especially those that were already slow going, like the one at Cooper Park Houses."
FULL STORY: Many Are Responsible for Housing Project's Stall
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Religious leaders want the state to reduce zoning regulations to streamline leasing church-owned land to housing developers.
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