City Council Greenlights Proposals for Two Brooklyn Residential Towers
Rendering courtesy of Archimaera
After a bit of back and forth, the City Council of New York City recently voted to approve proposals for two residential towers along Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights neighborhood. The proposed buildings – one at 1034-1042 Atlantic Avenue and the other at 870-888 Atlantic Avenue – are being developed by EMP Capital and Y&T Development, respectively, and they will add 438 new apartments to the area. Initially, the proposals were held up after the local council member, Crystal Hudson, raised concerns about the number of affordable units included in the plans. After reaching a compromise with developers, Hudson got on board – and the City Council followed suit.
Regarding land use matters, the NYC City Council typically defers to the local councilperson. The last time it didn't, in late 2021, it approved a proposal for the development of a new New York Blood Center at 310 East 67th Street despite the opposition of Ben Kallos, the local councilperson at the time.
In this case, though, the City Council abided by the wishes of Hudson, who took office in January. The proposals had already been presented to council members. After being sworn in, however, Hudson took steps to halt the projects unless developers would agree to better terms. To get her point across more clearly, Hudson published an open letter to the City Planning Commission earlier this spring, stating that she would vote against the proposals unless developers worked with her on setting aside a larger number of affordable units.
Both residential towers will stand 17 stories tall. The one at 870-888 Atlantic, between Vanderbilt and Underhill Avenues, will have 228 units. The one at 1034-1042 Atlantic, between Grand and Classon Avenues, will have 210 units. The initial proposals called for 25% of units to be set aside for people who earn 40% to 60% of the area's median income – approximately $38,000 to $57,000 per year for a family of two – which is in line with legal requirements. Under the revised proposal, 35% of the units in the two new towers will be earmarked for affordable housing. Therefore, the projects will produce 150 additional affordable units for the neighborhood, thanks to Hudson's input.
A small number of units in each building will be reserved for people earning 80% of the median local income, equal to around $78,000 per year for a family of two.
At the same time, Hudson secured a commitment from City Planning to conduct a study of the Atlantic Avenue corridor – a request that has been in the works for more than 10 years. The study will be used to help deter rapid gentrification in the neighborhood, and it will set guidelines for helping to ensure that residents have access to affordable housing. Developers also agreed to contribute $200,000 to local organizations fighting the displacement of local residents due to gentrification.
When the City Council met to vote on the revised proposals, it approved them with 49 people in favor, one opposed and one abstention.
According to the developers, both projects will commence in the upcoming months. No information regarding a timeline for completion has been provided yet.
Adding more than 400 new apartments in Prospect Heights is just a tiny percentage of the total number of new residential units needed to make housing more affordable. As the pandemic wanes, real estate and rent prices across NYC have soared. Meanwhile, vacancy rates have hit record lows, putting additional strain on local markets.
With affordable housing harder and harder to come by, Hudson's work to secure additional affordable units for the new developments on Atlantic Avenue could be a harbinger of things to come. Hudson stated during the negotiations that developers can and should do more to provide affordable housing for New York City residents. Rent prices for market-rate apartments have hit record highs, and it appears they will keep going up for the foreseeable future. Therefore, upcoming projects across the city could follow a similar pattern, adding more affordable housing to strike a better balance for local residents.