Joining neighborhood organizations throughout New York City, PSCC Trustees and members had a spirited discussion (at the April Trustees meeting) about the de Blasio Administration’s zoning proposal, “Housing New York: Zoning for Quality and Affordability.” While PSCC strongly endorses the goal of increasing affordable housing and senior housing throughout the city, the consensus was that the plan does not assure the achievement of this goal.
Following the discussion, the PSCC Board adopted a resolution [the full text is available HERE] which focuses on these 2 facts:
- the proposal provides a strong incentive for development not tied to the production of permanent affordable and senior housing; and
- it overturns the “contextual” zoning protections that Park Slope achieved when the City increased building heights along 4th, 5th and 7th Avenues in 2003.
Simply put, PSCC believes that the new zoning plan would spur the building of taller, overwhelmingly market-rate buildings throughout Park Slope (even replacing some existing housing that contains rent-regulated apartments) and forever change the character and livability of our residential blocks.
According to Peter Bray, a PSCC Trustee, “The proposed shotgun approach to rezoning does not guarantee the production of affordable housing, but instead guarantees the kind of profit-driven development that transforms neighborhoods with more luxury housing. We deserve a more nuanced, community-focused approach that protects the scale and quality of our neighborhoods, while still mandating the inclusion of affordable housing in new construction.”
For readers who’d like some other views on this complex topic, may we suggest these 3 links:
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