Q&A
Affordability levels and AMI concerns in the Beacon project
0:20:43
·
164 sec
Council Member Amanda Farías raises concerns about affordability levels and how AMIs have increased faster than incomes in the neighborhood. Melissa Auton from the Department of City Planning responds:
- The team understands the gentrification pressures in the neighborhood and has been working to provide affordable housing, with East Harlem being a top producer.
- The project aims to maximize the number of very low and extremely low-income units, with over 50% of units at 30% and 50% AMI.
- There's been a focus on maximizing the number of family-size units within the lower AMI categories.
- The project includes a 15% set-aside for formerly homeless residents, which will include more family-size units due to the overall increase in larger apartments.
- The development team has been communicating with the community board, tenants, organizations, and the deputy speaker to address affordability concerns.
Amanda Farías
0:20:43
Thank you.
0:20:44
And my last question is before I see if colleagues have any.
0:20:47
Can you folks talk about the affordability levels and how AMIs have gone up faster than incomes in this neighborhood?
0:20:53
And what, if any, changes to the affordability mix might be appropriate to make these units truly affordable to neighborhood households.
Brian Backscheider
0:21:04
Hi.
Sandy Nurse
0:21:09
There we go.
Amanda Farías
0:21:10
Hi.
0:21:10
One Sutton.
0:21:11
Sorry.
0:21:11
Before you specify
UNKNOWN
0:21:12
Oh, sorry.
0:21:12
Before you specify Could you just state your name for the record?
Melissa Auton
0:21:14
Melissa Saughton.
UNKNOWN
0:21:16
And, do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in your testimony before this subcommittee and an answer to all council member questions?
Melissa Auton
0:21:24
I do.
0:21:25
Thank you.
0:21:26
Hi.
0:21:26
Melissa Saughton, director of Manhattan Planning.
0:21:29
So if you could pull up the affordability slide, that might be a little helpful here.
0:21:33
But yeah.
0:21:34
So we understand the gentrification pressures here, in this neighborhood.
0:21:39
We hear it a lot.
0:21:41
We have done a lot of work providing, affordable housing in this neighborhood.
0:21:46
I think it's the top producer of affordable housing.
0:21:49
So we have a lot of projects that are going on here.
0:21:52
We always aim, to do the most affordable that we can.
0:21:56
We do a lot of Ella projects in this neighborhood.
0:21:58
Specifically with this one, you know, we have been trying to maximize, the number of, very low and extremely low, income units here.
0:22:09
And, actually, at the beginning of the process, we had, less 3050% of overall, and now we actually have added a couple.
0:22:17
So we're, at over 50%, thirty % and fifty % AMI units.
0:22:22
And one of the big focuses actually here and what we were hearing was that the number of family size units that fell within that should be maximized.
0:22:29
So we've really tried to, and and, you know, the development team understood this and really worked to maximize the number of family size units that fall within those categories.
0:22:39
Also, by maximizing the number of family size units overall in the project, that means that there would be more family size units falling within the formerly homeless fifteen percent set aside.
0:22:51
I I don't know if that answers your question, but that's some of the considerations we've taken here, especially with affordability and helping folks to stay in place, within the neighborhood.
Amanda Farías
0:23:01
Yeah.
0:23:02
I appreciate that response.
0:23:03
And I think coupled with the work that you're doing with communicating to the community board and tenants and organizations and the deputy speaker, that kinda helps give us a better shape of why and what you folks are aiming for towards doing together.
0:23:18
So thank you.
0:23:18
Appreciate that response.
0:23:19
I'd like to now recognize any of my colleagues to see if anyone has any questions or remarks.
0:23:26
Seeing none.
0:23:27
Thank you.
0:23:27
The applicant panel is now excused.