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Old Posted Aug 22, 2014, 1:22 PM
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http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.1909820

Gonzalez: East Harlem luxury tower plan is becoming Bill de Blasio's affordable housing test
In East Harlem, many are aghast at the sheer size of the towers, which they say will overwhelm a neighborhood made up largely of brownstones, walkup apartment buildings and narrow side streets.










August 20, 2014


Quote:
A plan to build three luxury residential skyscrapers in East Harlem is turning into a pivotal test of Mayor de Blasio’s promise to tackle the affordable housing crisis in New York.

The proposed towers would be the tallest in Manhattan above 96th St. They are slated to rise 50 stories over the East River Mall, a big-box retail center along the FDR Drive north of E. 117th St. The mall and an adjacent 1,200 car parking garage were opened in 2009 by Tiago Holdings LLC, with $65 million in state and city tax-exempt bonds.

But East Harlem leaders say they were blindsided when Tiago, a partnership of Forest City Ratner and Blumenfeld Development, quietly applied to the city Planning Commission in April to build the new apartment towers.

With up to 1,200 proposed units — 75% of them at market rate — the towers will radically speed up the gentrification of East Harlem, says Matthew Washington, chairman of Community Board 11.

“Building above the existing retail gives us a creative way to build a new development where normally such an opportunity would not exist,” said Ashley Cotton, a spokeswoman for the project.

.....Leaders of the coalition, many of whom backed de Blasio for mayor, want City Hall to mandate a 50-50 split between luxury and affordable units for all new housing projects that want public subsidies.

In East Harlem, many are aghast at the sheer size of the towers, which they say will overwhelm a neighborhood made up largely of brownstones, walkup apartment buildings and narrow side streets.

“We fought to maintain our cobblestone street and the quiet cul-de-sac we have on E. 118th St.,” said Robert Anazagasti, who has owned a brownstone on the block for the past 20 years.

“The mall developers never talked about residential towers on top of the mall,” Anazagasti said. “Now they’ve pulled a fast one and want to make 118th the entrance plaza to their towers.”

But Joe DePlasco, a spokesman for Forest City Ratner, says they are listening to concerns.

“We believe buildings of this size, properly and nicely designed, will allow us to bring a significant number of affordable homes to the community and in a way that is architecturally interesting,” DePlasco said.

One person yet to be convinced is City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who represents East Harlem and will play a decisive role in any Council vote on the project.

“This is a big deal in the scale and scope and the lack of affordable units,” Mark-Viverito said. “My staff is going to pay close attention to it. I told the developer, they have to get buy-in from the community, and so far the reaction from the community has not been positive.”
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