NYCHA Plans 35-Story Mixed Market-Rate, Affordable Tower Behind LaGuardia Houses
Even the New York City Housing Authority is capitalizing on the Lower East Side waterfront boom.
Cash-strapped NYCHA is bringing market rate housing into its backyard with a mixed-use project slated for LaGuardia Houses on the Lower East Side. It’s a “towers in the park” plan (i.e. “Infill”) that will help raise revenue for outdated infrastructure and dire maintenance needs.
NYCHA announced its intentions last week to develop a mixed-income tower on a Madison Street parcel between Rutgers and Jefferson Streets. The plot is deemed by the agency as “underutilized,” currently occupied by both parking and a trash compactor. If the planets align, this skyscraper could ascend as high as 35 stories and house as many as 500 apartments. (The Little Flower Playground allegedly won’t be harmed.)
Half of the units would be market-rate while the other half would be set aside for residents earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), or $51,540 for a family of three. In plain English, a family of three living here would only be eligible to apply if they earned no more than $65,250 annually.
There will be a lenghty community engagement process with residents of LaGuardia Houses and Community Board 3.
According to DNAinfo, the Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released next fall (or winter). The city will choose the winner in spring 2018, with their decision based on how closely the developers mirror the concerns of the community. Once the developer is chosen, NYCHA will begin the “participatory budgeting process” with residents to obtain feedback on improvements most needed at LaGuardia Houses; the agency committed to earmarking half the revenue from the new development into infrastructural upgrades in the public houses complex. In fact, the development needs roughly $70 million to complete these improvements.
Construction is planned for a 2019 ground-break.
Recent Stories
Chinatown Garment Industry Hanging by a Thread
Once a hub of manufacturing for the city’s garment industry, there are only a few remaining factories in Chinatown from a peak in the hundreds. The localized industry, which once employed thousands of immigrant women and men, sparked an area restaurant boom in the 1970s. Yet, began to decline in the late 1980s when manufacturers started […]
Residents Unite Against Developer Plans to Swap Park for Parking on LES Waterfront
Residents on the Lower East Side waterfront may soon lose more publicly accessible outdoor space. The developer of a new super-tall plans to reduce a children’s playground to a parking lot. As excavation work commences on Chetrit Group’s 70-story, twin-towered development at 265 South Street, tenants in the adjacent building – Lands End II – […]
Chinatown Homeless Murder Suspect Still Awaiting Trial
More than two years since the horrific murder of four homeless men in Chinatown, the suspect has yet to be held accountable for the crimes. In the early morning hours of October 5, 2019 Randy Santos stalked, then allegedly bludgeoned to death Cheun Kwok, Anthony Manson, Florencio Moran and Nazario Vasqez-Villegas while asleep on the streets. In […]
Excavation Begins for 70-Story South Street Towers
Cranes, and plywood, and pile-drivers, oh my! Such is the story down on the Lower East Side waterfront. Department of Buildings on April 12 issued official approval to the Chetrit Group to begin foundation activities for its dual 70-story tower at 265 South. A month later, the big trucks are mobilized. While excavation is now […]
For 7th Year Running, Greek Jewish Festival Returns to Broome Street this Weekend
After a more subdued outing last year, the Greek Jewish Festival this spring is on the rebound, pulling out the stops. It returns on Sunday for another go-round. Founded by Kehila Kedosha Janina on Broome Street seven years ago, the event celebrates the culture and traditions of the Greek Jewish community. Years past saw crowds […]
