The city's planned Hunters Point South megadevelopment could rise above the Long Island City waterfront on the backs of tax-free bonds sold through a special nonprofit organization, a top city official said Wednesday.Tom McKnight, a senior vice president of the city Economic Development Corp., said the uncommon approach would create a significant cost savings for the project, which will use city subsidies to provide 3,000 residential units that will be affordable to middle-income families.
But housing advocates said the proposal to sell tax-free bonds is an end-run around requirements to build housing that would be truly affordable to the average Queens resident.
Tax-free bonds plan to bankroll Hunters Point South high rises
...the Hunters Point South plan has been panned by housing advocates who say Queens' median household income - $48,000 a year - falls well below the lowest prices anticipated for the project's rental units.
The EDC did not respond to requests to define exactly what "affordable to middle-income" would be.
Housing advocate Elena Conte of the Pratt Center for Community Development said the city's plan to sell tax-free bonds is carefully designed to exploit an affordable housing loophole.
If the city were to apply for tax-free bonds directly - instead of setting up the nonprofit organization to do so - they would be subject to a federal requirement that 20% of the units be affordable to families making less than half of the local median income, she said.
17 comments:
No matter who is living here, it is in a dangerous flood zone with a high water table, next to one of the largest brownfields in the country.
It should be a public park.
There is no chance anything gets built if it requires substantially low income housing. There is no good reason to have low income rent regulations on this site. There is nothing wrong with structuring this development within the law to help reduce financing costs. The middle income portion of this would allow for affordable units for people making as little as 36,000/year. What is wrong with helping nurses, teachers, cops, firefighters, etc.?
Does not look like a viable community set-up. Everything from parking your car, to going to a grocery store is blocks away.
Government invention at its best. take a look at your hard earned tax dollars at work here folks. What business does the government have in playing favorites and giving housing breaks to you you, and you but not you?
Well you don't seem to mind too much when the government takes the waterfront away from the community and gives it to developers.
Correction, they took a trash strewn lot long ignored by the community and gave it to the developers. No one could get within 300 ft of the waterfrom until it was cleaned up.
The waterfront is being improved from a dump to something nice, which benefits the broad community. The government is not stopping anyone in the community from living at or using the waterfront.
commenter #2, I agree with you there is nothing wrong with government helping nurses, teachers, cops etc. Only problem is NYC starting salary for cops is $25K per year, lowest incomes proposed here is 36K.
Hey #1, Why would you put a park in a dangerous flood zone with a high water table, next to one of the largest brownfields in the country? It should be condos.
Who ever said a rookie cop should be able to afford a luxury apartment? After 5 years they make around 60k base and most make more with OT. Blame bad tactics by the union for the low starting pay.
Expect another bland development, resembling Battery Park City, or Riverside South. BPC was also founded on affordability and accessability.
Hey #1, Why would you put a park in a dangerous flood zone with a high water table, next to one of the largest brownfields in the country? It should be condos.
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Yup, how about condos full of gullible yuppies?
They may support and believe everything Gore says but I don't think, they will think, that a rising sea means a rising sea THERE!
Correction, they took a trash strewn lot long ignored by the community and gave it to the developers. No one could get within 300 ft of the waterfrom until it was cleaned up.
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Government policy took a vibrant community and destroyed it - now they are blaming the people that lived there.
Bullshit Bullshit Bullshit
vibrant community = trash strewn lot
"vibrant community = trash strewn lot"
Yes, but only if the surrounding community is filled with the tweeded.
The city hopes the residents of Hunters Point, no longer among the tweeded, will go somewhere, anywhere, just go ...
If its campaign donation chits that are being cashed in, and the residents of a community have to move to satisfy it, the residents will lose every time.
"Who ever said a rookie cop should be able to afford a luxury apartment?"
Is there really anything luxurious about these new developments? Yes, the windows are larger but really when you look at the floorplans, they are basically Lefrak City forty years later.
At least Lefrak City is near the subway, and the soil is not radioactive.
One good thing about living on radioactive soil: all the dogshit these great yuppies leave around will soon start to glow, making it easier to detect and steer clear from when walking home at night!
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