Infill is coming to NYCHA, like it or not

From Curbed:

Between 30-40 New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) sites across the city are being considered for the agency's infill program — adding mixed-income developments to underused NYCHA sites, the agency's CEO, Shola Olatoye announced at a heated City Council hearing last night. At the moment, this particular program is moving forward at two sites - the Holmes Towers at 403 East 93rd Street on the Upper East Side, and at Wyckoff Gardens at 185 Nevins Street in Boerum Hill. But what the meeting revealed last night was the fact that while residents at both developments will have input on what the final new development might look like, the project will move forward — regardless of community opposition.

A typical new building at a NYCHA site will have 50 percent market rate units, and the other half will be affordable. Of these affordable units, 25 percent will be set aside for NYCHA residents to apply to. And the affordable units will be open to those who make about 60 percent of the area median income, which NYCHA estimated to be $46,600 for a family of three.

The major concern for residents however, that City Councilman Ritchie Torres, who heads the public housing committee, made clear to NYCHA officials was that residents have been mostly cut out of the process — yes they can provide opinions, but the development is moving forward anyway.

Residents who spoke at the meeting stressed that the agency should find alternative means for funding repairs at existing NYCHA buildings.

"How can the government find $4 billion to fund a Penn Station renovation but find no money for public housing?" Darnell Brown, a resident at Holmes Towers, pointedly asked the officials.

If you love infill, why complain about it?

From Astoria Ugly:

Just, just: ugh. It’s apartment-complex-at-the-commuter-train-stop architecture, shoehorned into Queens rowhomes. With ample parking, of course.

Yes, well that's what infill looks like, pal. Remember when you commented that you "live in a city and appreciate the value of density"? (Sorry, but this sounds like something a transplant would say.) "Oh, the suburbs are so boring!" Well, Astoria is part of a city and the borough it is situated in hasn't been considered suburban for about a century. Most parts of Queens used to be quite lovely and, if you look back at my nostalgia-tinged posts about past places of enjoyment, not boring. Of course, this was mainly before infill. These days, if you don't visit a spot for awhile, you end up not recognizing it when you return. Large public gathering places are replaced with the sort of "cram in as many as we can" structures pictured. Hell, they are even selling off pieces of Queens' signature park for development.

This has been going on for a long, long time and sadly, the last person to actually try to do something about it - believe it or not - was Claire Shulman.

A variety of architecture that strikes the right balance is desirable. Nice big houses on large lots with lots of trees, apartment buildings with courtyards, rowhouses - they all have their place. Blocks containing walls of blond-brick Fedders nightmares replacing architecture containing life-affirming features, I can do without.  An 8-story building sticking up like a middle finger where there previously was a one-family house, I can do without.  And I think most people feel that way.