Friday, November 16, 2007

Bloomie sends Archie to LIC and Rockaway

Plans to rezone Long Island City’s Hunters Point had been heralded as a boon to the middle class. The city would create roughly 5,000 rentals, 60 percent of which would be set aside for middle-income families — roughly $60,000 to $145,000 annual income for a family of four — and the rest market-rate.

But many residents and housing advocates want to know, what about low-income New Yorkers?


‘Archie Bunker’ vision decried

On most city-owned land the Bloomberg administration has transferred to developers for housing, a minimum of 20 percent of the units have been reserved for low- and moderate-income families earning up to $57,000, [Elena] Conte explained. But the two largest public parcels in Queens slated for residential development — Hunters Point South (a.k.a. Queens West) and Arverne East in the Rockaways — have not had these requirements.

“This is why it’s raising eyebrows,” she said, adding that the city is trying to get a waiver from the federal government so it doesn’t have to include low-income units in buildings financed with tax-exempt bonds. “Why is there an Archie Bunker vision here?”


Because Bloomberg wants certain New Yorkers to leave certain places, Elena. They stand in the way of his grand plan.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

$145,000 doesn't sound like middle income to me !

Anonymous said...

It is ridiculous that any of this property is being set aside for affordable housing. Rent controls are anti-democratic and anti-free market. The LIC property is one of the most desirable locations in the world. People shouldn't be entitled to live there over others because they have low income. It should be market rate, with a mix of rentals and condos in order to foster the benefits of home ownership.
Also - $145,000 for a family of four is by no means wealthy.

Anonymous said...

What kind of drawing is this crazy Mayor reading (or passing off) it looks nothing like hunters point topogrophy ? Water on both sides ?

This shows hunters point http://queens.about.com/od/gettingaround/ss/lic_map.htm

-Joe

Anonymous said...

None of these affordable housing groups are based in Long Island City.

They want to shoe-horn more people why don't they go sniffing out to eastern Queens - plenty of room out there.

And who is doing the heralding of 'affordable housing?' The newspapers?

The point is the people of western Queens don't want more congestion - just ask Dutch Kills how they got hoodwinked.

We don't want ANY more housing in our community.

Anonymous said...

Joe, that's probably a drawing of the Rockaways.

Anonymous said...

I am tired of thise church groups - why are they just after new massive housing? I never see them when elderly rent controlled tenants are thrown on the streets, Mitchel Lama buildings are overturned, or the plague of illegally converted buildings exploit immigrants. They never make any comments on how the infrastructure they propose is to be built or funded.

If they care some much about lower income people, why don't they show up in communities like Greenpoint, or Williamsburg, or Astoria, or Hunters Point, or Dutch Kills and help people being displaced by developers stay in their homes. Where are they as lower income people are being displaced all over Manhattan.

They are a fraud.

They are funded by developers whose purpose is to open yet another marketing niche for lower income people. Their purpose is to add to the building frenzy of our city.