NEW YORK | Astoria Cove (4 towers) | FT | FLOORS

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by NYguy

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/07/...le-unit-boost/

Astoria Cove criticism persists despite affordable-unit boost
Around 20 percent of units to be below market rates; housing advocates pushing for 50 percent





July 17, 2014
Mark Maurer

[NYguy]

In regards to these people insisting private developers make as much as half of the units affordable housing, you have to wonder how they would respond if half of the development was affordable housing, and the other half public housing (projects). I think you would get a different response. They have to understand that any additional affordable housing built by the developer is a plus.

[chris08876]

Astoria Cove Project Will Include 345 Affordable Units, Developer Says


Credit: http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.c...-11-07-pm1.png

The developers behind a plan to build thousands of new apartments on Astoria's waterfront said this week that the project will include 345 affordable units, up slightly from their last proposal but still short of what local leaders want for the development.

2030 Astoria Developers said last month they were working to increase the number of affordable housing units in their Astoria Cove proposal — five mixed-use buildings with nearly 1,700 apartments on a portion of the Hallets Point peninsula.

The developers — a group of investors which includes Alma Realty — had last proposed 295 affordable units, which attorney Howard Weiss said accounted for 20 percent of the residential floor area of the development’s waterfront parcel (three buildings) but only 17 percent of the entire project.

He says they’re now applying the city’s Inclusionary Housing Program to the entire site, including two other buildings, which will result in 345 affordable units, or 20 percent of the entire project.

That still falls short of the 35 percent Community Board 1 requested of the project last month, when the board presented a list of stipulations to the developer following a lengthy public hearing the week before, where a number of speakers said they were worried about affordability.

================================
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/2014...developer-says

[chris08876]

Big Queens project draws key rejection


"The projected rents for the proposed affordable housing would still be higher than what current local Astoria residents, who will bear the brunt of the impacts of the proposed project, could afford to pay," said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz recommended Wednesday that the city disapprove the roughly 1,700-unit Astoria Cove residential project proposed for the Queens waterfront.

The key to Ms. Katz's thumbs-down decision—which is nonbinding but will factor into the ultimate decision by the City Planning Commission and City Council in the coming weeks—was twofold. In her estimation, the project would unduly burden several transportation links leading to and from the industrial peninsula, and that it would not include enough housing that area residents could afford to rent.

"The projected rents for the proposed affordable housing would still be higher than what current local Astoria residents, who will bear the brunt of the impacts of the proposed project, could afford to pay," she said in her finding.
The development team, led by Alma Realty, had gone as far as writing its own version of mandatory inclusion zoning into its application in an effort to align itself with the de Blasio administration's housing goals, which would have legally required it to set aside 20% of the project's floor area for affordable apartments.

Ms. Katz indicated that 20% was not enough, though she did not specify a percentage herself.

"While we are disappointed that the borough president has recommended disapproval of the Astoria Cove applications, we are pleased that her recommendation is based upon a very limited number of concerns," said attorney Howard Weiss, who is representing the developers. "Her recommendation … does not object to the essential elements of the project, including its density, building heights and overall design."

The borough president also requested that Alma build a promised elementary school at the start of the project, rather than the end, as well as pay prevailing wage to construction workers and a living wage to staffers at the project after its completion. Mr. Weiss contends the developer has addressed many of the issues within its control, including making provisions for ferry access.

======================================
July 31, 2014
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...-key-rejection

[Perklol]

I can't believe people think ferry access will help with the transportation problems. It's 2014 not 1900. Really get with the program, ferries cost too much and serve too little riders. Use that money on dumb-downed "Bus Rapid Transit" (Select Bus Service) or even, better, affordable housing. Just don't use on ferries please.

Since when was the CBD on the water's edge?

Edit: Even better, don't build here rofl. Its a terrible location and whomever wants to build here should pay for their own ferry line. Case in point:

http://www.amny.com/transit/rockaway...ober-1.8877104

Rockaway ferry to make final sail after October

The Rockaway ferry that residents had been fighting to keep will sail into the sunset when funding runs out after October, officials said Wednesday.
None of the ferry operators that submitted proposals to the city's Economic Development Corp. could run the boats at current ridership levels without extensive public money. The decision to end the service in the fall was first reported by DNAinfo.

"The responses … confirmed the unsustainable cost of long-term service at current ridership levels," said Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"Barring an extraordinary increase in ridership that brings that cost down significantly, this is not a service we'll be able to continue past October."

The service, which carries about 800 riders daily, was started after Superstorm Sandy knocked out the A train

[NYguy]

The city of more than 8 million residents is growing, and needs housing in all forms. Yet, there is very limited land on which such a large development could be built. If transportation is an issue, its up to the city and state to find a solution. Transportatipn is something that can be built. New land to build on isn't, unless we want to get back into the business of bulldozing whole neighborhoods.

This issue will be resolved around affordabe housing. A place to live trumps any transit concerns, so we'll see where de Blasio's CPC stands.

[antinimby]

Originally Posted by NYguy

The city of more than 8 million residents is growing, and needs housing in all forms. Yet, there is very limited land on which such a large development could be built. If transportation is an issue, its up to the city and state to find a solution. Transportatipn is something that can be built. New land to build on isn't, unless we want to get back into the business of bulldozing whole neighborhoods.

Truer words have never been spoken. Someone please send this quote out to all city officials, including the clueless Ms. Katz above.

[Perklol]

Originally Posted by NYguy

If transportation is an issue, its up to the city and state to find a solution. Transportation is something that can be built.

Except that the state/city aren't doing anything to help expand mass transit. The newest subway station that opened was in the 90's. SBS routes takes 5 years to implement and ferries perform poorly in New York City.

Don't tell that to our muscle car lovers in City Hall/Albany though.

Also I am aware that #7 train was extended to spur growth on the far west side. Let's not use that as an example, okay? It's a disaster really. 8 years for 1 stop and more delays? Ha! Has to be a joke... Anyway hope this gets built.

[antinimby]

^ You left out how much it costs.

[Perklol]

Originally Posted by antinimby

^ You left out how much it costs.

True.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by antinimby

Truer words have never been spoken. Someone please send this quote out to all city officials, including the clueless Ms. Katz above.

I knew Katz was going to be a problem.

Originally Posted by Eveningsong

Except that the state/city aren't doing anything to help expand mass transit. The newest subway station that opened was in the 90's. SBS routes takes 5 years to implement and ferries perform poorly in New York City.

Because they aren't doing anything doesn't mean the shouldn't/can't. The fact that you don't or won't pay your taxes doesn't take away the fact that you are supposed to, or in fact won't be forced to. There are many neighborhoods in the city that aren't served as well as they should be by public transportation. Yet we don't evict the people from those neighborhoods because of it.

Also I am aware that #7 train was extended to spur growth on the far west side. Let's not use that as an example, okay? It's a disaster really. 8 years for 1 stop and more delays? Ha! Has to be a joke... Anyway hope this gets built.

Not to take us off base, but I hardly find extending the 7 line - even with the one stop - a disaster. It's breathing a whole new life into the west side of Manhattan (as we are witnessing), and ten years from now, no one will care the slightest how long it took to build, just as long as its up and running.

They need to get this housing built. The city can't, and won't build all of the housing necessary for the city to grow, and house even current residents. That's where the private developers come in to build. And where there is the opportunity, we don't just throw it away because there is a slack on the public end.

[chris08876]

Almost there!
=========

Astoria Cove developers pay $43.5 million for remaining land

Astoria Cove developers recently finalized the sale for the final bits of the land designated for the mega project, although they have yet to win any steps in the project’s land use case.

In the transaction, 2030 Astoria Developers LLC, the group behind the 2.2-million-square-foot project, bought four lots from Superior Steel Studs Inc. for $40.02 million, according to city records filed on Monday. The lots’ addresses are 8-51, 8-01, 4-55 and 4-57 26th Ave.

An additional lot on 4-34 26th Avenue was bought for $3.48 million from Rayan Realty Corp., according to city records.

The developers now own all properties associated with the project, according to Howard Weiss of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, which represents the team of developers led by Queens-based Alma Realty.

However, the project still has to clear its Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) case. The City Planning Commission plans to hold a meeting on Sept. 29 about its decision on the proposal. Weiss said they are confident they’ll receive the commission’s blessing.

“I believe the City Planning Commission will approve the project as proposed with respect to the affordable housing and with respect to all the [aspects] of the Astoria Cove project,” Weiss said. “The reason why I feel confident is because the Astoria Cove project is consistent with the mayor’s housing plan.”

Astoria Cove is expected to consist of five buildings, three on the waterfront ranging from 26 to 32 stories and two on the upland portion of the site, including a six-story residential building.

The project, which is anticipated to take more than 10 years to complete in four different phases, will also include about 84,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space.

Following the commission’s decision, the proposal will go to the City Council.

============================
http://queenscourier.com/2014/astori...remaining-land

[chris08876]

A follow up as of 9/29 to the post above:
=========================


City Planning Commission Approves Astoria Cove

The City Planning Commission voted to recommend approval today for the proposed 1,723-unit Astoria Cove mixed-use development slated for an 8.7-acre site overlooking Pot Cove on the Queens waterfront.

A development team called 2030 Astoria Developers that includes Long Island City-based Alma Realty gained a positive vote after earlier thumbs down by Community Board 1 and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, but the vote with 10 commissioners signing on, one granting partial approval and two abstaining reflects commissioners’ support for a new direction for rezonings under Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s Administration, said Carl Weisbrod, the chairman of the commission.

“This development will be the first to be subject to a mandatory inclusionary housing requirement set forth in the zoning resolution,” Mr. Weisbrod said, calling the proposal a “harbinger” of future rezonings. “The Astoria Cove development would add a mix of market-rate and affordable housing, employment, shopping and recreational opportunities to service the needs of current and future residents in this portion of the growing neighborhood of Astoria.”

The proposed 2.2-million-square-foot development, which now moves to the City Council under the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, includes 345 affordable units, a 25,000-square-foot grocery store, a site for a 456-seat school and 1.92 acres of new publicly-accessible open space. The proposed rezoning “heralds the dawn of a new era in equitable development in New York City” and opens a waterfront that’s currently blocked-off by industrial properties, the developers said.

“Astoria Cove will bring significant investment, good-paying jobs, hundreds of units of affordable housing, local stores and shops, and an expansive open space network to a community that has been neglected for too long,” said 2030 Astoria Developers in a prepared statement following the vote. “Astoria Cove also will be one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable projects in the City’s history. All of this will be accomplished without any public subsidy.”

==============================
http://commercialobserver.com/2014/0...-astoria-cove/

[Design-mind]

Finally a go! I think they will still have lots of set backs as NIMBY's seem to criticize this one for taking away the few low income properties that exist, despite having many "affordable housing" units in the proposal.

[Perklol]

Nice...

But no ferries please.

[chris08876]

City Council members rip proposed Queens project

Developers of the planned 1,723-apartment Astoria Cove project got an earful at a City Council subcommittee hearing, from officials demanding more affordable units and union workers.

The developers of the proposed Astoria Cove residential project on the Queens waterfront sat through a bruising City Council hearing Monday, where several elected officials pledged to vote against the 1,723-unit development unless more affordable housing and union labor were included.

The development team, led by Queens-based Alma Realty, gave its presentation to the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, which will eventually cast an advisory vote, before the presentation moves on to the Committee on Land Use, and finally to the full City Council.

“What is being presented is atrocious,” said City Councilman Jumaane Williams, D-Brooklyn, who also briefly broke out in song with the lyrics: “It’s all about the money.”

He was one of several elected officials that lined up to blast the 1.7 million-square-foot project, which will contain several waterfront towers along an Astoria peninsula shared by a huge New York Housing Authority development, the site of another private project that received the city’s approval late last year, and several industrial buildings. The project will include retail, open space, and land that could be used for a new school.
Other lawmakers suggested the project was from the “old book of [former Mayor Michael Bloomberg]” and insinuated the developers had misled the community by indicating that there would be union construction and service jobs while not having signed an agreement. The developers pushed back, and noted that they were open to union labor and hashing out new affordable-housing numbers.

The major sticking point was the developer’s plan to devote 20% of the residential portion of the project to affordable housing without using a subsidy—though they will be receiving an as-of-right tax abatement.
Rather than participate in the city’s current and optional inclusionary housing program, which allows developers to construct bigger buildings in return for more affordable apartments, Alma has opted to legally require these units to be built. It is a practice known as mandatory inclusionary zoning, a forthcoming hallmark of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing over the next decade.

The City Planning Commission already signed off on the deal, but the elected officials are saying first and foremost that they want to see more affordable apartments, and secondly that those rents should be low enough to benefit many area residents.

==============================
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...queens-project

[Busy Bee]

It's bullshit like this that embarrasses me as a democrat.

[chris08876]

^^^^

Especially Al Sharpton who is a democrat.

Another rubbish democrat from Brooklyn. Democrats on a whole are okay, but the ones that represent Brooklyn .

[sparkling]

By LAURA KUSISTO
Updated Nov. 9, 2014 9:42 p.m. ET

The planned site of Astoria Cove, the first major development project to be shaped from early stages by Mayor Bill de Blasio , sits on a peninsula jutting into the East River, just out of reach of Gracie Mansion.

Also out of grasp, at least for now, is a deal between Mr. de Blasio’s administration, the Astoria Cove developer and the City Council to approve the sprawling Queens project and make way for hundreds of affordable apartments.

Mr. de Blasio has promised to generate 80,000 units of affordable housing, many by requiring developers to include lower-rent apartments in exchange for permission to build taller towers. But almost a year into his administration, carving a smooth path for big, new development projects has proved challenging.

The 2.2-million-square-foot project is at risk of being voted down by the City Council’s land-use committee, which must vote by Wednesday on it, according to City Council officials and the developer. The full council is expected to follow the committee’s lead.

“We’re running out of time,” said local City Council member Costa Constantinides. “I’ve been very clear that I can’t live with what currently exists. I am working with the developer and with everyone to try to get to a better place, but there is most certainly a risk if there isn’t movement” that the project won’t get approved.

To be sure, ratcheting up fear that a project will fail to get a better deal from the developer represents routine politics in the city, and virtually all projects pass. But even if Astoria Cove moves forward, real-estate executives and lobbyists said they were unsettled by its thorny path to approval.

Besides Astoria Cove, two other high-profile initiatives to create more affordable housing, at the former Domino Sugar factory in Brooklyn and at Brooklyn Bridge park, have run into City Council opposition.

Martin McLaughlin, a lobbyist who has represented developers and supports the mayor’s housing plan, warned that if the council drives tough bargains with developers, it risks projects not getting built.

“Sometimes that’s fine and sometimes that’s a risk because the developer can say, ‘I’m going to wait and I’m not going to develop anything right now,’ ” he said.

The City Planning Commission voted to approve Astoria Cove in September. Carl Weisbrod, chairman of the commission, highlighted that the developer didn’t get discretionary subsidies to make 20% of the project’s more than 1,700 units affordable, an important tenet of the housing plan. It will, however, be eligible for a city tax break.

At the City Council level, the project’s approval has proved difficult because various groups see it as a litmus test for whether their demands will be met under a new administration.

Housing advocates are trying to raise the stakes for how much lower-cost housing developers are required to build by calling for the project to be 50% affordable. Mr. Constantinides said he wouldn’t vote to approve it unless the developer added more units for low- and moderate-income families, and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has said she would back him.

John Mavroudis, managing partner of the Astoria Cove development team that includes Alma Realty, said that adding more affordable units to the 345 units it has proposed was financially infeasible without subsidies.

“I am also under the impression it could go either way,” he said of whether the parties are likely to reach a deal.

“We respect the right and the responsibility of the local council member to press for the best possible project for his neighborhood. We’re confident we’ll reach an outcome here that meets the needs of this community,” a spokesman for the mayor said.

The administration struck a deal with Two Trees Management Co. earlier this year to add more affordable housing to the Domino Sugar Factory development.

But Council Member Stephen Levin felt cut out of the process when the developer, Two Trees Management Co., wouldn’t offer him additional concessions because it already had made a deal with the administration, according to people familiar with the matter.

The administration also is facing opposition as it helps to push for a requirement that 30% of two new towers at Pier 6 on the southern edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park be affordable. Community opponents have sued to require the nonprofit that runs the park to conduct a new environmental review of the project, potentially delaying it for six months to a year.

Mr. Levin opposes the project, according to his aides. So does Brad Lander, a leading progressive on the council and longtime de Blasio ally, who represents the neighboring district.

Mr. Lander said he worried about building hundreds of units of new housing at the Brooklyn Bridge Park and Long Island College Hospital sites without adequate infrastructure, such as transportation and schools.

“I’m concerned that in some cases the pressure to maximize units means development without good planning,” Mr. Lander said.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/old-i...ach-1415583731

[chris08876]

Look at all that green! I know they complain about the lack of affordable housing or really, not enough, but I think the developer is being very generous with the conditions that they are asking for. At this point, its just nit-picking at how many units they want. The amount being offered is more than enough.