Upcoming: Tenant Aid Workshop

There's a "Tenant Aid Workshop: Fighting for Affordable Housing" session coming up on Monday, April 28, at 7PM at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel RC Church, which is located at 275 North 8th Street at Havemeyer St. The announcement says: "Learn About Your Legal Rights as a Tenant, See if You Qualify for Rent Subsidies, Learn About Affordable Housing Opportunities, Sign-up for Further Counseling, Get Legal Representation if Needed." It's sponsored by the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Tenant Anti-Displacement Collaborative, which includes Brooklyn Legal Services, Churches United, Los Sures, Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG), North Brooklyn Development Corp., the People's Firehouse & St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corp.

Upcoming: Learn About Cohousing

| View | Upload your own

If you're interested in the concept called cohousing--which is a cooperative living arrangement--you can learn more about it tonight. The meeting is organized by the Brooklyn Cohousing Group. Here's some info about it:

Come hear national expert and co-author of "The Cohousing Handbook: Building a Place for Community", Chris Scott Hanson, give a free talk and slideshow about Cohousing communities on Friday May 9th at 6:30 pm at the Brooklyn Friends Meeting House, 110 Schermerhorn Street near Borough Hall. Sponsored by the Brooklyn Cohousing Group, which is building an urban Cohousing community in the Prospect Park area of Brooklyn. If you are interested in a more community-oriented way of living while still having privacy and owning your own home, then you may be interested in Cohousing. The idea of Cohousing is not new. It has been around since the 60's and is more popular in Europe, but there are many Cohousing groups in the US.

For more info contact Alex at alex@alexmarshall.org. A lot of information, with links to more, is available here.

More Potential Starrett City Round 2 Bidders Emerge

The number of potential bidders for the huge Starrett City complex on Jamaica Bay has increased to four. Interestingly, all the possible bidders identified so far are groups involved in affordable housing or with a commitment to keep the development's nearly 6,000 units affordable. The complex was the subject a deeply controversial $1.3 billion bid by Clipper Equities that was ultimately killed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development after a firestorm of protest. Crain's reported yesterday that the National Housing Partnership Foundation and the New York Housing Partnership "have both expressed interest" in the development. A coalition of labor, religious and community groups as well as the National Development Council, which is a Manhattan-based nonprofit, have been previously noted as potential bidders. No private buyers have yet "expressed interest" in the 46-building complex.

Bklink: Starrett City Bidding Starts Again

The first group to announce a bid for the huge Starrett City development is a community-based one made up of the Christian Cultural Center, the Central Labor Council, and the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. They say the goal is keeping Starrett City affordable. The bid is said to be "well below" the $1.3 billion bid last year that failed after it created a firestorm of opposition because of the threat to affordable housing at the complex.--Crain's

Interested in Brooklyn "Cohousing"?

If you're interested in the concept called cohousing--which is a cooperative living arrangement--you can learn more about plans for cohousing in Brooklyn tonight. The meeting is organized by the Brooklyn Cohousing Group. Here's some info about it:

A successful reality in Denmark and now in more than 100 locations in the US & Canada, cohousing offers a contemporary model for creating a secure and stimulating environment for families and individuals. In urban cohousing, people live in individual apartments but mingle in common courtyards, gardens and dining facilities. The Brooklyn Cohousing Group is currently recruiting smart, creative, and community-minded people to locate, finance, design and build a community for 20 to 30 households. As the first co-housing community in New York we hope to embody what is best about being New Yorkers. We are a child-friendly, multi-generational group open to all ages, races, religions, ethnicities and household types...

We want an apartment building with a central courtyard where children play and neighbors gather, friends talk and people sing, and where plants, trees, vegetables and flowers grow. We currently believe that a mix of 20-30 apartments of various sizes is ideal and we intend to build or modify an apartment building to house a community of this size. We are committed to doing so in Brooklyn within 2 years (by the fall of 2009). We aim to locate within walking distance of Prospect Park, in an area with good public schools, near to public transportation and shopping and services. We value the environment and will include ecologically-friendly technologies where economically feasible. We will design a beautiful building and invest in quality construction to create homes we will be proud to live in for a long time.

The meeting is tonight at 6PM at 399 Atlantic Avenue.

Columbia Street Housing Discussion to Become More Vocal

The 152 units of housing that would be built on and near Columbia Street in Red Hook will be back in front of a community meeting tomorrow. It concerns a "pre-approved" Department of Housing Preservation and Development plan for 152 units of housing, 40 percent of which would be affordable. It may not be greeted warmly by residents, some of whom object to plans for buildings up to 60-80 feet tall in a community where most structures are only two or three stories. In fact, we were reminded of the meeting by a community notice that is circulating that says, in part:

HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENT-IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD??

Find out about the plans by NYC and a private developer to build 152 units between Congress & Baltic Sts., between Hicks & Columbia Sts...Do you want 3 large buildings, 60-80 feet tall, towering over us and changing the character of our neighborhood?

The details, as found on the CB6 website:

Presentation by representatives for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development of a pre-certified ULURP application to construct a total of 152 housing units at 3 development sites in the Columbia Street District at 75 Columbia Street known as Site 1 (18 units), 86-98 Congress Street and 79 Warren Street known as Site 2 (33 Units), and 104-116 Warren Street and 101-115 Baltic Street known as Site 3 (102 units).

The Brooklyn Downtown Star had an article on the issue back in September. CB6 Committee meeting takes place tomorrow (10/25) at 6PM at Long Island College Hospital, which is located at 399 Hicks Street, at the corner of Atlantic Avenue.

Related Post:
New Housing for Columbia Street?

[Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Downtown Star]

New Housing for Columbia Street?

Columbia Street in Red Hook, which has been in a state of serious street construction for more than a year, will be getting some new housing if a "pre-approved" Department of Housing Preservation and Development goes ahead. The plan is for 152 units of housing, 40 percent of which would be affordable. The plan was to be discussed at a Community Board 6 committee meeting on August 23. The presentation was canceled because it conflicted with a Carroll Gardens "Town Hall" meeting hosted by City Council Member Bill de Blasio. The Brooklyn Downtown Star has a new story on the plan. It may not be greeted warmly by residents, some of whom may object to plans for buildings up to 60-80 feet tall in a community where most structures are only two or three stories. It is similar to the issue which led to the Carroll Gardens meeting, in fact, where plans for a building of similar height at 360 Smith Street built support for downzoning the entire neighborhood.
[Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Downtown Star]

Displaced Tenants of Greenpoint Building to Protest

We received an email that the tenants of 202 Franklin Street in Greenpoint are planning a "Vigil Against Harassment and Displacement!" on Tuesday (7/24) from 6PM to 7:30PM. The rent-stabilized tenants were displaced three years ago by a fire and have been frustrated in their efforts to return. The email says:

The landlords, Franklin Global Realty, have refused to make any repairs despite a court order, and an agreement with HPD. They continue to drag out the court proceedings and offer buyouts the tenants, hoping to vacate this valuable site to build more luxury condos...We need to make an example of this building to prevent other landlords from assuming that they can vacate buildings and displace long time residents who have a legal right to return to their homes!

There a blog/website up about the Greenpoint fight if you want to check it out. Back in January, the group held a vigil to protest treatment of the displacement tenants by the landlord.

Fifth Avenue Supportive Housing Development Approved

Perhaps you recall the supportive housing development the Fifth Avenue Committee has been trying to build at Fifth Avenue. Well, many months after the public discussion about the building at 575 Fifth Avenue started, the City Council has voted unanimously to approve it, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports. The building, which will have 49 units of affordable housing for formerly homeless residents and for senior citizens, had won over many local opponents (though some still objected). It was approved by the City Planning Commission in May. Borough President Marty Markowitz had disapproved it, however. In any case, the City Council's vote was unanimous. The development will rise on the site of a municipal parking lot.