City issues RFP for affordable housing development on 5th Street

On Thursday, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to redevelop the parking lot at 324 E. Fifth St. into "100% affordable housing."

The 9th Precinct uses the 11,540-square-foot site between First Avenue and Second Avenue for parking and various towed vehicles. 

Affordable housing on this parking lot was one of the points of agreement in the City Council's December 2021 vote to approve the controversial SoHo/NoHo rezoning. 

According to HPD officials, nearly 400 residents completed the site questionnaire or attended the public workshop in February to share their visions and ideas for the lot. 

Per officials: "The feedback that HPD received has shaped the RFP that HPD is releasing ... will shape the eventual housing when it is built." 

HPD heard the community's ask for deeply affordable housing and a community center, childcare, or senior center on the ground floor. There was also a strong preference that the future building incorporate green space. 

The HPD also released the 324 East Fifth Street Community Visioning Report (PDF here) if you want more background on the input to date. 

You can find the RFP, which is due on Aug. 22, at this link. 

This will be a years-long project. Many phases remain before construction even starts...

Back to the HPD: 

After a proposal is selected, HPD and the development team will continue to provide regular updates to local stakeholders as the selected plan makes its way through the city's public approvals process. Once the plan receives final approval through the New York City Council, it will move forward to financing and construction.

Above credit: NYC Housing

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• More discussion on the future of the city-owned parking lot at 324 E. 5th St. 

• City launches community engagement campaign for '100% affordable housing' on 9th Precinct parking lot 

More discussion on the future of the city-owned parking lot at 324 E. 5th St.

The city is hosting a public workshop on Thursday evening to discuss the future of the parking lot at 324 E. Fifth St., which has been designated to serve as "100% affordable housing." 

In December, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced plans to redevelop the city-owned lot into inclusionary housing. The 9th Precinct uses the 11,540-square-foot site between First Avenue and Second Avenue for parking and various towed vehicles. 

Affordable housing on this parking lot was one of the points of agreement in the City Council's December 2021 vote to approve the controversial SoHo/NoHo rezoning. 

Here's more about the RFP process via the HPD: 

No one understands neighborhood conditions and needs better than those who live and work in the community. HPD values this expertise, which is why community engagement is central to the affordable housing development process. The goal of this outreach is to identify priorities for housing, services, and community amenities. 

You can sign up to receive email updates about the project here. 

The public workshop will be held on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at University Settlement's Speyer Hall, 184 Eldridge St., between Rivington and Delancey on the LES. 

Meanwhile, the 5th Street Park Coalition is advocating for a more expansive use of the space, including the adjacent playground at P.S. 751, in what would be "a comprehensive rezoning plan which accounts for affordable housing, greenspace, public community space and a new public school play area."

Per organizers: 

We are seeking a holistic combination of both lots, 324 and 310 (which used to be public to the community). No reduction to the size of the current planning for Affordable Housing nor the nearby school to lose any of its valuable resource. 

Our goals are to work with HPD, DOE and SCA on a mutually beneficial school redevelopment, affordable housing overlooking a small greenspace with a public component and potentially more with the police department. Our goal is organization. 

Find more information about the Coalition here. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• City launches community engagement campaign for '100% affordable housing' on 9th Precinct parking lot

City launches community engagement campaign for '100% affordable housing' on 9th Precinct parking lot

EVG file photo

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) yesterday announced plans to redevelop the city-owned parking lot at 324 E. Fifth St. into "100% affordable housing" ... starting with a community engagement campaign for the proposed new project.

The 9th Precinct currently uses the 11,540-square-foot site between First Avenue and Second Avenue for parking and various towed vehicles. Affordable housing on this parking lot was one of the points of agreement from the City Council vote to approve the controversial SoHo/NoHo rezoning in December 2021.

Here are the next steps in what is likely a years-long process, per a city release on the project: 

The process of creating new affordable housing at 324 East 5th Street begins with a robust community engagement process culminating with the creation of a community visioning report summarizing the community's input. Together with local stakeholders, HPD will lead an in-person community workshop, local tabling events, meetings with the local community board and stakeholders, and other activities, all while collecting responses through a questionnaire (link), available online and in print at each event. Community members, local organizations and residents are invited to provide feedback and suggestions via the questionnaire. 

Following the community visioning report, HPD will release a request for proposals (RFP) where affordable housing development teams may submit their proposed plans for the site. Responses from developers must be responsive to the community priorities laid out in the community visioning report. Additional information, including updates on the process and upcoming public tabling events, is available on the HPD website (link). 

Said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. in a statement: 

"The reuse of public land currently used for parking of city vehicles for affordable housing is exactly the right thing to do. We are excited to use this property owned by the taxpayers to confront our historic housing crisis in a creative and sustainable way. ... we will engage with the host community, which is the neighborhood of my early years, to ensure that what gets built at 324 E. Fifth St. addresses local needs and aspirations."

A group called 5th Street Park Coalition is advocating for a more expansive use of the space, including the adjacent playground at P.S. 751, in what would be "a comprehensive rezoning plan which accounts for affordable housing, greenspace, public community space and a new public school play area."

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Community groups advocating for low-income housing on these 2 East Village sites

Community groups advocating for low-income housing on these 2 East Village sites

Several community groups are hosting a public forum Thursday evening "to demand low-income housing" for the neighborhood. 

According to the meeting flyers, NYC owns "underutilized parking lots in our community, and we want to see affordable housing built on these sites."

The two examples cited are: 642-648 E. Sixth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C, which serves as NYCHA employee parking ... and 326-332 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, which the 9th Precinct uses. 

Both of these properties could yield low-incoming housing, per the organizers, the Cooper Square Committee, This Land Is Ours Community Land Trust and the Sixth Street Community Center.

The forum starts at 5:30 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 22) at La Plaza Cultural, the community garden on the SW corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street.

And as previously reported, a group called 5th Street Park Coalition wants a park for the space adjacent to P.S. 751 and currently used as a parking lot for the 9th Precinct on the block. 

Senior housing on this Fifth Street block is one of the points of agreement that came out of the City Council vote to approve the controversial SoHo/NoHo rezoning this past December.