Community Board 7 Members Call For “Real” Affordable Housing

Calling the mayor’s affordable housing plan a “blunt, crude tool,” Community Board 7 rejected the city’s solution to create cheaper housing.

The board, which covers Greenwood Heights, South Slope, Sunset Park, and Windsor Terrace, voted Wednesday night to reject Mayor Bill de Blasio’s two proposals: Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning For Quality and Affordability. Their rejection vote contributes to the growing number of community boards across the city that are against the mayor’s plan.

“It doesn’t cover the demographics of this neighborhood,” said Daniel Murphy, the board’s chairperson. “Developers are a lot smarter than us and you inadvertently allow unscrupulous developers take advantage of the situation.”

Many residents and board members decided to vote no after concluding that the mayor’s plan to create apartment buildings with mandatory affordable housing would increase the density of an already overpopulated Sunset Park and undo zoning rules that currently limit building heights.

Most importantly, as Murphy noted, they were concerned that the median income for the city is about $43,000 a year, which is the number that would be used to determine what affordable housing means for the area. But many families in Sunset Park live way below that income level, according to board members.

“We have a large undocumented community here,” board member Ramon Acevedo said. “They’re not making that kind of money.”

The board’s land use committee, led by zoning wonk John Fontillas, voted against the affordability plans earlier this month.

Although the final vote was against the plans, many board members voted in favor of the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing plan, which would require developers who are building new apartments to reserve a determined percentage of the apartments as affordable. The second plan, Zoning For Quality and Affordability, which would allow for taller buildings, was almost unanimously rejected.

The board’s decision doesn’t actually affect the final outcome of what the city decides to do. Instead, the advisory vote and the board’s notice of opposition will be sent to the City Council, whose members will ultimately decide what to do with the two zoning changes.