Month: July 2007

The Sun:

The city has preserved the “affordable” status of about 40,000 units, more than half of its 73,000-apartment goal.

However, the efforts for creation of affordable housing are less advanced, as the city has claimed the completion of only 25,000 of its target 92,000 units.

The issue of preservation vs. creation of new housing is critical. These numbers are pretty much in line with what has been happening in Williamsburg of late. In fact, the citywide new housing numbers are well ahead of those in the Williamsburg rezoning area.

Lets first admit that Bloomberg is playing catch up on this. He came in midway through a real estate boom, having inherited a host of unfriendly policies from a generally unfriendly prior regime, and, to his credit, at least recognized the problem. He’s been playing catch up ever since. Even given all that, the record is not outstanding. Rezonings are turning out to be massive give aways, with little in return for local communities or long-term residents. What’s working on the waterfront is not working inland. And all of this plays into the hands of the more outrageous proposals from all sides.
Jones is right that the Mayor has often refused to expend political capital in Albany in support of housing. Jones cites the failure to win rent protections for Mitchell-Lama tenants – the same could be said of the 421a reforms.

In a no-brainer, the Daily News supports reform at the Department of Buildings.
While we’re at it, lets stop making deals to legalize all the zoning shenanigans: if its not to code, take it down. That might learn a developer or two.

Francis Morrone on the Brooklyn waterfront, the National Trust’s endangered list and the “mercurial” David Yassky:

This summer may offer the last best opportunity to view parts of the waterfront in the midst of its transition from a gritty industrial environment to phalanxes of tall residential towers with riverfront esplanades and the occasional park.