247 Cherry Street and 252 South Street, image from JDS

De Blasio’s Housing Policy Unravels as NIMBYs Attack Partially Affordable Developments on the Lower East Side

As Mayor de Blasio’s initiatives to create affordable housing continue to fail, bright spots for advocates of a better and more inclusive New York City are few and far between. In the Two Bridges area of the Lower East Side, JDS, Extell, CIM, L+M, and the Starrett Group are planning five new towers with 700 affordable units. NIMBYs don’t care. Despite all that affordable housing, red herrings went flying at a community meeting last night, and the echo chamber of outrage reverberated all the way onto the internet.

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Sea View Healthy Community

City Seeks Expressions of Interest for Mixed-Use Redevelopment of Seaview Hospital, Staten Island

As promised earlier this year, the New York City Economic Development Corporation has launched a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) to redevelop the crumbling, 80-acre Seaview Hospital complex at 460 Brielle Avenue, in central Staten Island. The city is seeking a development team to transform the former tuberculosis hospital into a mixed-use neighborhood called Sea View Healthy Community. There would be a mix of medical offices, retail spaces, residential units including affordable housing, community facilities, and public open space. Proposals are due March 24, 2017, DNAinfo reported.

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88 Crescent Street

Three Three-Story Buildings with Eight Apartments Coming to 88 Crescent Street, East New York

South Ozone Park-based Anata Inc. has filed applications for three three-story, multi-family residential buildings at 88 through 92 Crescent Street, in East New York’s Cypress Hills section. The buildings will measure between 3,227 square feet and 3,520 square feet. Two of them will contain three apartments, while the third will contain only two. Across all three buildings, the apartments should average 1,256 square feet apiece, which means that either rentals or condominiums could be in the works. Massapequa, N.Y.-based Hogan Associates is the architect of record. The 80-foot-wide, 6,985-square-foot assemblage consists of a vacant lot and a two-story house. Demolition permits were filed in March.


69-12 Woodside Avenue

Four-Story, Eight-Unit Mixed-Use Building Filed at 69-12 Woodside Avenue, Elmhurst

An anonymous Woodside-based LLC has filed applications for a four-story, eight-unit mixed-use building at 69-12 Woodside Avenue in Elmhurst. The project will measure 16,672 square feet, including 2,849 square feet of medical offices on the ground floor. The residential units in the rest of the building should average 890 square feet apiece. There will also be seven off-street parking spaces, six of which will be housed in an underground garage. Hui Zeng’s Bayside-based ABC Engineering is the applicant of record. The 50-foot-wide, 6,099-square-foot lot is occupied by a two-story townhouse. Demolition permits were filed in March.


Larkin Plaza

Ground Broken for Two-Towered, 439-Unit Mixed-Use Project at 22 Napperhan Street, Yonkers

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held for Larkin Plaza, the two-towered, 439-unit mixed-use development planned at 22 Nepperhan Street in downtown Yonkers. The rental complex will consist of a 25-story, 280-unit building on the corner of Nepperhan Street and Warburton Avenue, as well as a 17-story, 159-unit structure fronting Main Street. A two-story commercial building, with 35,000 square feet of retail space, will also front a long stretch of Nepperhan Street, Westfair reported. A three-story, 539-car parking garage is also planned. RXR Realty is the developer. Foundation work is imminent, with completion anticipated for 2018.