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Q&A
Discussion on justification for current affordability levels
0:34:41
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133 sec
Council Member Salaam challenges the current affordability levels in the development plan, citing concerns about accessibility for local residents. Developer Teitelbaum defends the proposal and its potential benefits.
- Current plan includes 291 affordable units, with 97 at 120% AMI
- Salaam points out median household income in the district is about $53,000
- Teitelbaum argues the development will create new housing stock and potentially stabilize rents in the area
Yusef Salaam
0:34:41
As you can imagine, there's been great frustration and in fact, puzzlement.
0:34:47
CB ten, the borough president and myself and many more have made it clear that committing to enhance affordability plan was vital to approving this project.
0:34:56
Now, the presentation before us meets the bare minimum requirements of affordability and also proposes that 97 to those two ninety one required quote unquote affordable units be provided at 120% of the AMI.
0:35:14
This equates to about 175,000 for a family of three.
0:35:18
This is far out of reach for so many of my constituents.
0:35:22
How would you justify to them this large development being put right in the middle of their community in light of this reality?
Bruce Teitelbaum
0:35:31
Right.
0:35:31
So a few things.
0:35:32
First of all, as you know, there's no current housing at the site.
0:35:37
There has been a paucity, and I'm being kind, of any housing development at all in C B 10 over the past ten to twelve years.
0:35:45
There is currently no requirement to build any affordable housing on the site.
0:35:50
Approximately 40,000 square feet of the site can be used to do as of right housing that wouldn't be affordable.
0:35:58
We're we're very mindful of of the needs of the folks in the community.
0:36:02
And and the MIH two option is going to create 291 permanently affordable units for incomes across the AMI band as low as 40% to 80%, and as you said, to a 20%.
0:36:18
There are, we believe opportunities and and folks in the community who can avail themselves of the affordable part of the units.
0:36:30
We believe there are plenty of folks in the community that will do so.
0:36:34
And we also believe that the general philosophy that you need to build more apartments, you need to build more units in the community.
0:36:42
We think that once you do that, it will invite other development, more units will be built.
0:36:47
This will help stabilize and even lower prices of of rents across C B 10.
0:36:53
Exactly.