I've been amazed to see how quietly the Culver El project -- the 17 building affordable housing project on the border of Kensington and Borough Park, for which the city is giving away millions of dollars worth of land to developers -- is being pushed through the system.
It seems as though everything has been decided, everyone that the developers felt needed to be consulted has been consulted and this project is being rushed to be approved over the Summer. The next decision making meeting for this project has been scheduled for July 8th, at the Borough Hall.
There is something else that bothers me: I have not been able to find one article on the project in the New York Times, Post, Daily News, or Observer . (If you find one - please share!). I'm not sure if this is about the project, or just the fact that the mainstream papers never cover Kensington or Borough Park. But how would anyone who does not read the Orthodox Jewish press ever find out about this project? This is especially odd, given that its been in the works since 2004.
Here is a piece in Hamodia (via Yeshiva World News) that tells folks more about the proposal, which cleared another major hurdle, the CB12 approval was granted the other week, which seems to suggest that the fix is in:
Agudath Israel’s affordable housing division, the Southern Brooklyn Community Organization (SBCO), will seek Department of Buildings approval for variances relating to matters such as height and back yard dimensions. SBCO doesn’t anticipate any objections from city agencies. The plan has been thoroughly reviewed and worked out with city officials and the local community board.
As I've written, both Kensington and Boro Park need more affordable housing -- but it should be affordable housing for all.
I emailed Councilman Brad Lander some questions about this earlier this week, and am still hoping to hear back.