Harlem catches Mayor Adams with his pants down trying to move migrants into luxury building

 

NY Post

Mayor Eric Adams stunningly reversed course on plans to turn an abandoned luxury Harlem condominium complex into a migrant shelter when he was met with community outrage Thursday night.

Adams’ change of heart came during a surprise appearance at a St. Nicholas House Resident Association meeting packed with dozens of residents furious over the city’s plan for a building development on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd once marketed as upscale housing.

The 35-story building was quietly slated to become a homeless shelter that could potentially house migrants — a plan that was only revealed to the community this week when some neighborhood residents saw workers bringing bed frames and mattresses inside.

But in the face of pressure, Adams on Thursday night backpedaled. 

“You will not have migrants and asylum seekers in that property,” Adams declared.

The site will instead be used to house long-term New York families experiencing homelessness, a spokesperson for the city Department of Social Services told the outlet in a statement.

The building, originally billed as a lux living space where residents would pay market rates to enjoy an indoor swimming pool and apartments with marble bathrooms, has sat vacant for a decade since developers were forced into foreclosure.

It was then leased to a non-profit that had been working with the city Department of Social Services/Homeless Services to use it as a shelter for either migrants or the Big Apple’s native homeless population.

 Those in attendance at Thursday’s community meeting let Adams know how they felt about the plans to possibly house migrants.

“You are the mayor. We do not want to hear excuses,” one Harlem resident shouted at Adams, CBS New York reported.

Others expressed hope the complex could be turned into affordable housing for neighbors who are struggling to afford their rent.

“We have a dearth of affordable housing we’re being priced out of the community … The lack of respect is absolutely appalling,” Harlem resident Regina Smith said.

Queens City Council crony acts as proxy for Brooklyn City Council crony to approve luxury public housing tower in her district

  

Brooklyn Paper

 The City Council moved to approve the controversial 840 Atlantic Avenue rezoning this week, despite its failure to gain support from Community Board 8.

The City Council Land Use Committee voted to approve the application — which will allow for an 18-story building on the corner of Vanderbilt and Atlantic Avenues in Prospect Heights that currently hosts a McDonalds drive-through — on Sept. 13, leaving only the full City Council to vote before it’s written into law. 

An updated version of the proposal was presented to and approved by the community board’s land use committee on Sept. 2. The latest version of the proposal reduces the number of affordable units to about 54, but cements their affordability at a deeper level under the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program at option 3. It also reduces the building’s bulk by about 10 percent. 

The proposal to erect a dense mixed-use building at the corner of the two heavily trafficked thoroughfares was rejected numerous times by the boards land use committee, and by Borough President and would-be mayor Eric Adams, who requested a less dense alternative be proposed.

Committee members repeatedly raised concerns that the development was out of step with the long-planned M-Crown rezoning, which seeks to rezone the industrial corridors of Prospect and Crown Heights for development while retaining jobs in the area. The developer, Atlantic-Vanderbilt Holdings LLC, was asked by board members to resubmit their application.

Community boards play an advisory role in the Uniform Land Use Review Process, but they must officially weigh in before a project can move forward. 

The exact identity of Atlantic-Vanderbilt Holdings LLC remains murky, though Simon Duschinsky of the Rabsky Group development firm is known to be a passive investor in the project. 

According to sources familiar with the negotiations, Councilmember Laurie Cumbo, who represents the area and has the most influence over land use decisions, brokered a meeting between select committee members and the developer, which led to the most updated version of the proposal being presented to the committee and approved. 

Neither Cumbo nor any of her staffers participated in the meetings, which were attended solely by committee members and representatives for the developer, according to the source.

A statement read by City Council Land Use Chair Francisco Moya during a Sept. 10 meeting of the land use subcommittee indicated her support, though Cumbo has not attended any of the public meetings regarding the project. 

“840 Atlantic Avenue presents a rare opportunity to secure truly affordable housing and an affordable long term home for the beloved arts organizations and job-generating commercial space on a site that is currently home to only a parking lot and fast food restaurant,” the statement reads. 

A representative for Cumbo did not return a message seeking further comment. 

 

How is this luxurious monstrosity going to fit?

 

 

NY YIMBY

New renderings from Michael Muroff Architect reveal Armature, a seven-story residential building at 64-08 Wetherole Street in Rego Park, Queens. Developed by Tahoe Development, a local real estate investment entity, the structure features an exposed concrete frame that visually and structurally links the ground-floor planters, residential balconies, and rooftop trellises. Many of the building’s floor-to-ceiling windows are recessed behind the structural forms offering a sense of modesty from within and industrial minimalism from the exterior vantage.

When complete, Armature will comprise around 20,000 square feet, the majority of which is accounted for in residential area. The solo component will yield 26 rental apartments ranging from studios up to two-bedroom layouts. Associated amenity spaces will include a roof deck with private cabanas and passive recreation space, a fitness room, dog bathing areas, a package room, bike stations, and a 13-vehicle parking lot.

 I think it's prudent to point out that this was approved without Cojo's "Planning Together". 

Say goodbye to that baby tree there. And we thought de Blasio cared about the environment.

 

Public housing condos and affordable luxury studios now available for lottery applications

 

YIMBY

 The affordable housing lottery is now open for 45-57 Davis Street, a nine-story mixed-use development in Long Island City, Queens. Designed by J Frankl/Charles Mallea and developed by Solomon Feder of Velocity Framers USA, the 145,000-square-foot will yield a total 158 units in a mix of studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 48 apartments for residents at 130 percent of the area median income, ranging in eligible income from $73,920 to $183,300.

 At 130 percent of the AMI, there are 12 affordable studios with a $2,156 monthly rent for incomes ranging from $73,920 to $118,300; 23 one-bedrooms with a $2,245 monthly rent for incomes ranging from $76,972 to $133,120; 12 two-bedrooms with a $2,710 monthly rent for incomes ranging from $92,915 to $159,640, and one three-bedrooms with a $3,122 monthly rent for income ranging from $107,040 to $183,300.

 The YIMBY stenographer forgot to mention that the lucky gentrifier, I mean tenant is responsible for paying the electric bill to go along with the "affordable" rent.