NEW YORK CITY — A proposal from the New York City Housing Authority could bring more than 1,000 market-rate and affordable units to two housing projects in Manhattan and Brooklyn, officials said.
NYCHA seeks to construct new developments on underutilized land in Boerum Hill's Wyckoff Gardens and the Upper East Side's Holmes Towers under its NextGen Neighborhoods program, a 10-year strategic plan that seeks to boost the city agency's operating deficit and provide funds for capital needs.
The new units would be 50 percent market-rate and 50 percent affordable with a portion of the revenue used for repairs and improvement projects within the NYCHA developments.
The remaining funds would be used for other operating costs within the system. NYCHA could not immediately provide a cost or revenue estimate for the proposals.
For Wyckoff Gardens, NYCHA is proposing to replace two unused parking lots with two buildings that would host 550 to 650 units.
The Boerum Hill low-income housing development, bound by Third Avenue, Wyckoff, Baltic and Nevins streets, currently has three buildings with almost 530 units.
For Holmes Towers in the Upper East Side, NYCHA is seeking to replace and move a playground and construct a building with 350 to 400 units.
The Towers, which already include two buildings with nearly 540 units, is located on First Avenue between 92nd and 96th streets.
The income for affordable housing would be capped at a minimum of 60 percent of the area media income but there may be scope for deeper affordability as the process continues, spokeswoman Jackie Primeau said.
But most of the details of the proposals, including the percentage of revenue that will be used for capital needs in Wyckoff and Holmes, will be dependent upon community input from residents.
Wyckoff and Holmes were selected because of the space for new buildings, the need for repairs in existing units as well as for affordable housing in the areas.
The Upper East Side and Boerum Hill were also seen as highly marketable neighborhoods for the units.
NYCHA is planning a series of "resident engagement" meetings for feedback on the proposals, Primeau said.
This week, NYCHA began contacting residents in both developments. The agency plans to host a number of local sessions and a public resident forum in the first week of October, she added.
Community input is key in determining what portion of the revenue should be used for funding needs within the NYCHA developments as well as prioritizing the required repairs and improvements.
These engagement sessions will continue until early next year after which NYCHA will issue a request for proposal or RFP.
NYCHA has also committed to creating a local resident hiring program for job and training opportunities.
"As we start this comprehensive, inclusive process and engagement moves forward, we cannot forget our purpose and why we are doing this — we must save NYCHA today and for tomorrow; we can no longer kick the can further down the road to address our finances, resident concerns and pressing infrastructure needs,” NYCHA chair and CEO Shola Olatoye said in a statement.
