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Originally Posted by sparkling
Here is who owns what, let's see if they can actually work together. Think this project is a long shot but hopefully De Blasio's plan spurs some meaningful discussion to find other means (up-zoning/rezoning) to achieve the goal: more housing
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One way or the other, both the governor and the mayor realize that the time has come to do something with the Sunnyside Yards. With the Hudson Yards (and Manhattan West) as the latest examples of something that can be done with the wasted airspace over railyards, combined with the increasing housing problem in the city, the momentum is building for a plan to finally be put in place. Because nothing will happen without a plan first. If part of that plan means removing the Javits to get it done, they'll have to do it. One thing is certain, the Real Estate Board (the powerful developers) are ready to build, and will push to get this done on both fronts.
http://www.rew-online.com/2015/02/03...ng-to-do-list/
Bold de Blasio adds 160,000 units to housing ‘to do’ list
By Dan Orlando
February 3, 2014
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The Real Estate Board of New York yesterday (Tuesday) applauded Mayor de Blasio’s call to strengthen his affordable housing plan by a further 160,000 units.
Calling the decision “bold,ˮ REBNY president Steve Spinola said the mayor’s call for an additional 160,000 market-rate units, above and beyond the 200,000 affordable units the administration plans to build or preserve over the next decade, “will go a long way to keeping New York the greatest city in the world in which to live, work, and raise a family.”
De Blasio began his campaign by promising the original 200,000 units of affordable living space, but Tuesday’s demand for a new wave of market rate properties is an answer to the dwindling supply and surging prices that face the city’s residential marketplace.
“Building more new market rate and affordable housing, and preserving and enhancing our current inventory of affordable housing is the only way to address our decades-long housing shortage,” said Spinola.
During his address, de Blasio warned, “If we fail to be a city for everyone, we risk losing what makes New York, New York. And nothing more clearly expresses the inequality gap — the opportunity gap — than the soaring cost of housing.ˮ
Kathryn Wylde, president & CEO of the Partnership for New York City, commented, “The high volume of affordable housing production achieved during the Koch era was the result of robust public-private partnerships.
“A collaborative approach is even more important today since city government has little inventory of cheap land and construction costs have skyrocketed. While it was not explicit in the Mayor’s speech, I trust his administration understands that forging partnerships with the development and financial industries is the only way to accomplish his housing goals.”
At the time of the most recent census (2012), the median household income amongst Manhattan residence stood at just under $67,000 per year. The average rents for the borough eclipsed $3,000 per month.
Up against slightly more modest rents, Brooklyn and Queens saw median household incomes of $44,850 and $54,373 respectively.
The highest household income belonged to the suburban Staten Island, which barely eclipsed $70,000 per year.
[b][color=blue]“Without such bold initiatives, the City’s housing market will tighten further and become even more expensive,” said Spinola. “Our industry stands ready to work with the mayor and other stakeholders to put shovels in the ground and cranes in the sky to tackle this important goal.”[/color[p.b[
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http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/e...icle-1.2102343
Sunnyside up for de Blasio
Mayor's State of the City speech offers big, ambitious plans for much-needed housing construction
Editorial
February 4, 2014
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Bill the Builder on Tuesday unfurled housing plans faster than the forces of gentrification, more powerful than not-in-my-backyard naysayers, and able to leap ultra-luxury towers in a single bound.
Kudos to Mayor de Blasio for displaying superheroic ambitions in his State of the City address.
With New York in desperate need of affordable housing, the mayor says he’ll deliver big-time through targeted rezonings, mandates on real estate developers and some major building projects.
The biggest of de Blasio’s big deals called for creating 11,250 units of affordable housing on a deck to be built over the 200-acre Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak railyards in Queens.
Let’s hope his other ideas get off to a surer start.
Gov. Cuomo’s office shot down the mayor’s “game-changer,” with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority placing the Sunnyside Yards off limits because they serve as a staging area for construction of an East Side tunnel for the LIRR.
The yards could be a prime development site.
In December, we urged de Blasio and Cuomo to delve into a proposal by former Bloomberg deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff and former city planner Vishaan Chakrabarti of SHoP Architects.
They concluded building a deck over the tracks for housing would be prohibitively expensive but could be feasible for a convention facility.
Thus, they called for moving the Javits Center to Queens and unlocking the value of its real estate on Manhattan’s West Side to build 25,000 units of housing, including 10,000 affordable apartments, there and in Sunnyside.
De Blasio brushed past that concept, perhaps because it came from Bloomberg alumni. Similarly, Cuomo may have objected to de Blasio’s notions because they stole a march on his own consideration of the railyard’s future.
Come on, folks. Take a coordinated look at building over the Sunnyside Yards. And let’s also focus on another 200-acre tract of underutilized land in Queens: Aqueduct Race Track.
Except for a gambling casino, the place is derelict. Here’s what to do: Move the horses to Belmont, a mere eight miles away, and build housing at Aqueduct. As long ago as 1994, the Planning Department envisioned 2,300 low-rise units on the track property.
The rest of de Blasio’s housing program seemed far more grounded.
He added East Harlem and Stapleton on Staten Island to neighborhoods that would be rezoned to spur development on the proviso that projects deliver affordable housing. Great.
De Blasio also pledged to invest $200 million to pave the way for 4,000 housing units on the South Bronx waterfront, as well as to use blighted land in the Rockaways for construction. Bravo.
But building big takes no small time. The laborious approval process for the first of more than a dozen rezonings, in East New York, is barely underway. De Blasio needs to get a move on.
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http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...ules-not-yours
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The mayor also had some good news for developers: He pledged to cut red tape at the Department of Buildings, add or preserve 160,000 market-rate units, expand the city's modest network of ferries in 2017 and create 20 bus-rapid-transit routes in the next four years.
The city will fund $55 million in capital costs for the new ferry routes and subsidize their operation so commuters would pay no more than the cost of a subway ride, he claimed. The economics of the plan are sure to be questioned, as current ferry fares are several times the price of a MetroCard swipe even with the city providing subsidies that are high on a per-ride basis.
Mr. de Blasio also reaffirmed that he would push for taller buildings in certain areas to help meet his goal of creating 80,000 affordable apartments over 10 years (twice the average annual rate of the past 25 years, the mayor noted). Such proposals are typically met with community opposition in the outer boroughs, although popular demand for affordability can overcome it.
Mr. de Blasio tried to reassure New Yorkers who dislike building shadows and fear gentrification and overcrowding. "We are not embarking on a mission to build towering skyscrapers where they don't belong," he said. "We have a duty to protect and preserve the culture and character of our neighborhoods, and we will do so."
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NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
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