Rendering of proposed 4-story building at 63 Stockholm Street, Brooklyn. Image Credit: STAT Architecture/CPC.
The new building will bring 20 deeply affordable units to Bushwick, and will be constructed with sustainability features. On February 13, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to approve an application by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for the construction of a new and 100 percent affordable 20-unit building in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. HPD sought City Planning’s approval for the disposition of the City-owned property at 63 Stockholm Street, designation of the property as an Urban Development Action Area Program (UDAAP), and project approval.
The project was presented at a public hearing of January 9, 2019, by Lin Zeng of HPD, along with Drew Vandenburg of the RiseBoro Community Partnership and Frank Lang of the St. Nicks Alliance. RiseBoro Community Partnership and St. Nicks Alliance are nonprofit community development organizations selected by HPD as the developers for the project and will be 50/50 owners of the new building.
The City-owned 63 Stockholm Street property is an approximately 7,500 square feet lot that is currently vacant. The applicants will construct a four-story building with 20 deeply affordable rental units that will be offered at affordability levels between 37 and 80 percent of AMI. Specifically, four units will be at 37-40 percent AMI, seven units at 47-50 percent AMI, and nine units will be at 77-80 percent AMI. The expected monthly rents will be between $524 to $1,749, depending on unit size and family size.
The affordable housing will be funded through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, a private loan, and a low interest loan from HPD.
The building will be constructed pursuant to Passive House Design standards, featuring solar shading, wall thicknesses and airtightness, low voltage equipment, low flow appliances, and heat capture and air source heat pumps to ensure sustainability. These features will not only reduce the building’s carbon footprint, but will also bring down the cost of utilities, deepening affordability for its tenants.
The applicants intend to hire locally, especially MWBE contractors for the construction of the project and will offer their employees workforce development programs.
Both Brooklyn Community Board 4 and Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams issued favorable recommendations for the application.
At the City Planning Commission public hearing, Commissioners Michelle de la Uz, Larisa Ortiz, and Anna Hayes commended the applicant team on working together to bring not only 20-unit project with this depth of affordability but also on the proposal to construct the building with Passive House features.
By: Viktoriya Gray (Viktoriya is the CityLaw Fellow and New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2018).
Passive House concept appears to me to be overkill and overpriced for NYC long term needs.
It really can’t be afforded with a rent-restricted tenant with no excess income to add to the proposition. Also, it diminishes living space with the addition of greater insulation.
We will not need added insulation against the cold with climate change promising us a warmer clime over time. Cooling the structure is much more cheaper than heating. Look at the heating/cooling expenses of NC and NY, and we are promised NC’s climate by 2050. Worry about tropical diseases.
The Developer of the 80/20, Urban Development Action Area Program property where I reside in Central Harlem, has Used Professional Certification to rewrite the original intent of the property. In DOF, 116 Units are classified as 3 Condo Units. The building is classified as a Condo Building. UDAAP does not list Condominium Building as a permitted property.
How then can DOF support a for profit Affordable Developer in acts of false designation and tax fraud?