Residents Rally Against City’s Planned Sale Of Fort Greene Lot For $1

Fort Greene residents and citywide housing and homeless advocates rallied against the city’s planned sale of 15 Lafayette Avenue to developer Jonathan Rose Companies for $1, filling the lobby of the Department of City Planning’s offices, where a meeting with the Mayor’s Office of  Contract Services was held on Wednesday, February 11 with protest signs and chants.

Accoording to the Commercial Observer,

“. . . around thirty advocates filled the lobby brandishing signs reading “No Dollar Deals for Big Developers” and “Build Housing for the Homeless” while Vocal NY executive director Jennifer Flynn led members of the grassroots community action group in chants against the deal. The effort was organized by Vocal New York and by the housing coalition Real Affordability for All.

The hearing saw testimony from several advocates. The chairperson of Vocal, Wanda Hernandez, read a statement that referenced an increase in homelessness during Mayor de Blasio’s tenure and suggested that homeless be moved into 15 Lafayette.

As we noted last month, the 120,000-square-foot parking lot is a prime piece of real estate in the heart of Brooklyn’s cultural district. In exchange for the beyond-bargain basement price, the private developer is reportedly required to designate 40 percent of the apartments — 49 units — as “affordable” for at least the next 30 years.

Renderings of the planned development show a 12-story apartment building with 2,800-square-feet of ground-floor commercial space and 21,000-square-feet for a cultural center. The site sits across from the BAM Opera House and next to the Mark Morris Dance Center.

The building will contain 123 units, 73 of them at market-rate prices and 25 for tenants who earn 60 percent or less of the Area Median Income (AMI). There will also be 24 units for tenants paying above market-rate.

The plan originated with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration and is being picked up again by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s team at the Department for Housing Preservation and Development as part of their goal to build and preserve affordable housing throughout the five boroughs.

Construction is due to begin this spring and finish in time for a late 2016/early 2017 opening.