Community Board 16, which represents Ocean Hill-Brownsville, discussed a potential affordable housing venture at its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the Mt. Ollie Baptist Church.
During the meeting, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development presented an application to rezone a lot, which includes 392 Rockaway Ave. and 47 Chester St., as an Urban Development Action Area. With this designation, developers would be able to construct a nine-story mixed-use building of approximately 290 housing units and community facilities.
In the new building, HPD presenters said 85% of the units would be made affordable to individuals and families with incomes up to 60% of the Area Median Income, with an additional 15% earmarked for households currently residing in New York shelters. HPD presenters said that a family of three to four people earning between $30,000-$35,000 are eligible to rent a two-bedroom apartment at $680 a month in the affordable units.
The community board is currently in the midst of a 60-day review period, which began on Sept. 26. Once the board submits its official opinion, HPD will take it into account before moving forward.
"Forty-five units are set aside for housing referrals, while 245 are reserved for lottery-related applicants,” the HPD spokesperson said. “Anyone who lives in the community district gets first dibs at renting those apartments. Half of them are definitely for people in the community, and the other half is for anybody who is applying."
Some board members said they are worried about the potential negative impact on the mental health of families living in cramped spaces. In one-bedroom units, the bedrooms measure 9-by-10 feet, and the living rooms measure 11-by-11 feet.
Several meeting attendees asked about the accessibility of amenities within the building and whether these amenities would be available to the broader community or solely to the building's residents.
“You live in the building, you get to use the laundry room — same thing with the fitness center. But, the public plaza and cultural center is for everyone," the HPD spokesperson at the meeting said.
During the meeting, City Council Member Darlene Mealy asked why the units couldn't be more affordable, given the substantial subsidies available.
“HPD can give us more affordability; they got a lot of subsidies," Mealy said. "We are the main ones that need it."
The HPD spokesperson did not have an immediate answer to this question but said they would follow up after the meeting.
Mealy also alleged that developers bypassed her office and directly approached CB16 without engaging in negotiations for a more equitable and tailored project for Brownsville.
"Maybe before we wasn't on the same page, but I'm begging you: Let us be on the same page now," Mealy said. “This is our last opportunity to get parking, to get it affordable, to get a little more subsidies, to get bigger apartments. We deserve it.”
CB16 holds monthly meetings on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM at Mt. Ollie Baptist Church, 1698 St. Marks Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11233.
