Housing Deal Delivers Nearly 2,500 Apartments Across NYC

NEW YORK, NY— New York City lawmakers approved rezonings in Greenpoint and Hell’s Kitchen that will clear the way for nearly 2,500 new apartments, including hundreds of permanently affordable homes.

The New York City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and Committee on Land Use voted to approve the Monitor Point and DeWitt Clinton Park North projects, which together are expected to produce about 2,418 housing units.

Plans call for 949 permanently affordable apartments, including affordable senior housing and supportive housing for formerly homeless New Yorkers.

At Monitor Point in Greenpoint, the project will bring approximately 1,324 apartments, with 662 units, designated as affordable.

The project includes 329 apartments for households earning 40 to 60 percent of Area Median Income, or about $58,000 to $87,000 annually for a family of three.

About 110 affordable and senior housing units will be reserved for formerly homeless New Yorkers through the city’s NYC 15/15 program.

Council negotiations increased the affordable housing share from 40 percent to 50 percent, adding more than 200 affordable apartments to the proposal.

The project will include a 958-unit mixed-income building with 296 affordable units and a separate 366-unit building that will be entirely affordable housing.

The Greenpoint development also includes a new home for the Monitor Museum, more than an acre of waterfront open space linking the Greenpoint waterfront to Bushwick Inlet Park, relocation of two Metropolitan Transportation Authority facilities to industrial areas and $300,000 annually for long-term maintenance of Bushwick Inlet Park.

“Our city is in the midst of a historic affordability crisis, and this project will help address the urgent shortage of affordable homes in Greenpoint,” Council Member Lincoln Restler said. “Any development on publicly-owned land must be primarily for the public good.”

In Hell’s Kitchen, the DeWitt Clinton Park North rezoning covers two privately owned sites near the Hudson River.

The project is expected to add approximately 1,094 apartments, including 287 affordable units.

Developers will contribute roughly $29 million to the Hudson River Park Trust in exchange for additional building height, according to Council Member Gale A. Brewer.

The agreement also includes funding for infrastructure improvements in Hudson River Park and a $200,000 contribution for upgrades to DeWitt Clinton Park.

The rezonings now return to the City Planning Commission for scope approval before advancing to the full City Council for a final vote.