Friday, March 29, 2013

NY Senators seek transparency and resident input in NYCHA infill proposal



From the EV Grieve inbox...

New York State Senator Brad Hoylman joined State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Ranking Member of the Senate’s Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee, in calling for a Senate hearing on the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) infill development plans.

NYCHA has targeted thirteen sites in eight public housing developments in New York City, which collectively have 11,037 apartment units housing 25,031 residents, for private, market-rate residential development with affordable components. The proposal offers 99-year ground leases of the NYCHA-owned land to private developers to raise revenue and help close gaps in NYCHA’s capital budget.

Despite calls by advocates, elected officials and other community stakeholders for full transparency, NYCHA’s plans for engaging input on infill development largely disenfranchise residents. Therefore, it is critical that elected officials provide meaningful oversight and Senators Hoylman and Espaillat believe that the State Senate Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee is the appropriate venue in which to do so. NYCHA is expected to release its Request for Proposals in April.

Hoylman said: “From misleading sales pitches about the benefits of infill development to vague flyers advertising so-called resident engagement meetings, it’s clear that NYCHA is not interested in real transparency and community input. While infill development has the potential to generate much-needed revenue to pay for long-overdue capital projects, NYCHA will only score a win for the communities it serves by truly listening to residents and advocates before determining whether and how to proceed.”

Previously.

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