Two key pieces of Mayor de Blasio's affordable housing intention cleared a hurdle today,winning approval from the City Planning Commission. [br]
The plans are called Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability.
The names are wonky, but the city says the goals are simple: The first would require developers to build more affordable housing in rezoned areas. The other would update the zoning code to allow taller buildings in some places and make it easier to build much-needed senior housing."We believe that they will address our acute affordable housing needs while enhancing the quality of life in neighborhoods across the city, and " said Carl Weisbrod,a de Blasio Administration official who serves as Director of the Department of City Planning. He said the two proposals are part of a "huge array" of policies designed to make the city more livable.
But the two proposals are controversial. Community boards across the city have voted against them. Critics say the original units won't be affordable enough, and taller buildings will threaten the character of certain neighborhoods."The reality is, or under this intention,low-income original Yorkers will continue to be unable to afford an apartment," original York Communities for Change executive director Jonathan Westin said of the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing intention in a statement.
Peg Breen, or Executive Director of the original York Landmarks Conservancy,said the Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposal "risks upending established community planning throughout the city."A few commissioners cited community concerns and voted no. But a majority of commissioners voted in favor. Now the two proposals will budge on to City Council for hearings next week.
Source: wnyc.org