New York Housing Authority to Ask Holmes Towers Residents for Input on New Playground

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Despite opposition from some residents and politicians, the New York City Housing Authority is moving forward with a plan to build a 300-unit mixed-income housing development on a playground next to the Holmes Towers.

On Friday, NYCHA announced that it will invite Holmes Towers residents to help design a new playground to replace the one that will be demolished to make space for the apartment complex. The announcement came on the final day for developers to submit proposals for the new tower, which moves NYCHA one step closer to selecting a developer and beginning construction.

When a developer is eventually selected for the project it will be required to construct the new playground before working on any other aspect of the project, a NYCHA spokesman told Patch.

Holmes Towers residents will be able to submit ideas for the new playground's design and location during family oriented workshops, according to the NYCHA announcement.

"Engaging residents and the community is at the core of NYCHA’s mission to protect and preserve public housing for the next generation," said NYCHA Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye in a statement. "These playground workshops will bring the whole family to the table, giving young residents the chance to explore their imaginations for ideas and see those ideas come to life in a community-based vision for the new playspace at Holmes Towers."

The schedule for the playground workshops will be announced in spring 2017, a NYCHA spokesman said. NYCHA plans to post flyers around the Holmes Towers to raise awareness and will directly invite the building's tenant association. The stakeholder committee for the new development will also be invited to the workshops, a NYCHA spokesman said.

The development is part of NYCHA's new NextGeneration Neighborhoods program to develop "underutilized" public land in order to raise money that can be invested into improvements for existing NYCHA developments. Apartments in the new development would be a 50-50 split of both market-rate and affordable housing units.

Photo: Google Maps street view circa January 2013