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Two Task Force Organizations, UPROSE and the Fifth Avenue Committee, are hosting meetings this Wednesday and next, which may be of interest to Brooklynites. Wednesday, July 23 is the UPROSE Community Education Forum on the proposed USPowerGen update of the Gowanus Generating Station in Sunset Park. Wednesday, July 30 is the next meeting of the Accountable Development Working Group.

More info after the jump.

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On Wednesday, July 23, the City Planning Commission will take public testimony on four of its proposed rezonings at it stated meeting, which begins at 10am at 22 Reade Street. The four projects are:

1) St. George Special District, Staten Island - This rezoning of Staten Island’s transit hub covers four main areas: new retail regulations to encourage pedestrian-friendly shopping streets; allowing easy conversion of vacant office space to residential; regulating building height/bulk to maintain waterfront views; and regulating parking to encourage an active streetscape.

2) Laurelton Rezoning, Queens - This plan seeks to downzone much of this residential neighborhood in southeast Queens, while providing for some modest housing development along Merrick and Springfield boulevards.

3) Waldheim Rezoning, Queens - This plan is primarily a downzoning for a residential area near Downtown Flushing.

4) Dutch Kills Rezoning, Queens - This plan is an extension of the existing Special Long Island City Mixed-Use District, and seeks to encourage a mixed-use environment and the creation of affordable housing.

In the inbox today, an email from the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation:

“As part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC brownfields initiatives, the Mayor?s Office of Environmental Remediation (MOER) invites you to attend our kick-off meeting for community brownfield outreach. This meeting will introduce MOER to community organizations working on brownfield issues, discuss capacity-building workshops planned for 2008-2009, and gather your input about what will help you be most effective in your brownfield work.”

When: Monday, 21 July 2008, 1:00-4:00 pm

Where: NYC Economic Development Corporation 110 William Street, 4th Floor, Manhattan.

To register or for more information, contact brownfields@cityhall.nyc.gov.

In 2004, the City approved an extensive rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn. The Pratt Center for Community Development has now released a study titled, “Downtown Brooklyn’s Detour: The Unanticipated Impacts of Rezoning and Development on Residents and Businesses,” (PDF) which it prepared for the advocacy group Families United for Racial and Economy Equality (FUREE).

Pratt Center Director Brad Lander told the Village Voice, “What we mostly found is what members of FUREE already know: The unanticipated impacts of development have not been good for low- and moderate-income people.” As the Voice reports, the study finds that, “100 businesses have already been displaced, as many as projected by the city for the entire rezoning area. And because the new development has been residential and not commercial, there hasn’t even been a corresponding growth in jobs for local residents.”

FUREE staged a protest in Downtown Brooklyn today to correspond with the study’s release. The goal of the protest was to call out developer (and Mayoral candidate) John Castimatidis for failing to deliver on a promised, much-needed supermarket on his Downtown Brooklyn condo development site.

The ongoing controversy over the proposed East Village/Lower East Side rezoning continued in earnest this week, with a group of opponents delivering a 10,000 signature petition to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. (via City Room, photo via Village Voice).

The Empire State Development Corporation officially declared Manhattanville “blighted,” paving the way for the use of eminent domain for Columbia University’s expansion plan. (via Gothamist)

AM New York examined 10 NYC historic buildings that are in various stages of neglect.

News from the Chinatown Tenant Union:

The Chinatown Tenant Union (CTU) is a part of the OUR Waterfront Coalition and has been working with other organizations in Chinatown and the Lower East Side to ensure that there is accountable development around the East River Waterfront. We believe that the community that lives closest to the waterfront - especially low-income people, people of color, and immigrant communities - should be central to any decision-making processes and that any development needs to prioritize the needs of these communities, and not the needs of tourists, the rich, or private developers and big businesses.

This Saturday, July 19th, we will be launching a community visioning process for input into the types of services, programs, and businesses that should occupy the waterfront. We would love for you to come join us, give us your opinions, support the process, and spend the rest of the day playing and eating with us! All for free!

Please contact us for more information or for flyers in Chinese, Spanish, and English at (212) 473-6485. And please spread the word!

Three grassroots organizations have released a new report, “Boom for Whom? How the Resurgence of the Bronx is Leaving Residents Behind” (PDF) documenting the current conditions in the “booming” Northwest Bronx, and the desperate need for jobs for local residents there. The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NBCCC), its Sistas and Brothas United Youth Leadership Program, and the Urban Justice Center’s Community Development Project collaborated on the report, which states, “While the borough has recently emerged from a long period of racism-fuelled disinvestment to become a site of major investment, this has done little to improve the lives of those who reside, work, worship, and attend school in the area.”

The report explores how to address such concerns by, “raising industry standards, enforcing workers’ rights, and connecting living-wage job opportunities to the local Bronx workforce so that residents benefit from development projects.”

The NBCCC is helping make this vision a reality with the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory. As part of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), they are seeking, “living wages and union protections for local residents in the construction and permanent jobs, community space, an affordable recreation center, and environmental protections through the negotiation of a Community Benefits Agreement, a Labor Peace Agreement and a Project Labor Agreement with the developer of the Armory.”

Photo of KARA protest at City Hall via the Daily News.

This week, the NY Times’ City Room blog is taking reader questions about rent stabilization, to be answered by housing lawyer Joel E. Abramson.  Visit online and ask away in the comments section!

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg was supposed to deliver a speech at the NAACP convention in Ohio, but was delayed in New York and didn’t get the chance. However, today’s Observer has the full text of the speech, in which the Mayor redefines the poverty line for New York City.

He (would have) said, “Right now, the federal government’s poverty formula tells us that the poverty threshold for a family of four is $20,000 – whether they live in Manhattan, New York or Manhattan, Kansas. This one-size-fits-all formula tells us about 19 percent of New York City residents are poor.

“But the cost of living is much higher than average in New York and many other cities, and our new formula takes that into account. As a result, we’ve found that the poverty threshold is $26,000 for a family of four in New York City – which puts 23 percent of New Yorkers below the poverty line.”

City Room reports today on an audit by Comptroller William C. Thompson’s office, which cites the Department of Sanitation for “disorganization and mismanagement” in its program for cleaning up vacant lots.

The Lot Cleaning Division is charged with cutting weeds and removing debris and large items. However, the audit found, “‘inadequate internal controls’ by the department in identifying lots for cleaning, processing complaints and work orders and managing the clean-ups.” As writer Sewell Chan put it, these lots, “remain significant eyesores in low-income neighborhoods,” and “are dumping grounds for discarded food, trash, construction debris, lumber, appliances and even vehicles.”

So what can communities do to counteract this problem? In Philadelphia, which has had a major vacant property problem, with an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 vacant lots downtown in 2006 according to Philadelphia Weekly, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green program has created a manual, Reclaiming Vacant Lots: a Philadelphia Green Guide. This manual is geared toward city agencies, community-based organizations and block associations, and outlines a basic “clean & green” approach to managing vacant land, including clearing debris, planting grass and trees and installing fences. It also provides information on settling ownership issues, developing a site plan, and creating a long-term maintenance strategy. Check it out!

Former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer has teamed up with Willets Point business owners to lobby the City Council. The Daily News reports that Ferrer is, “calling on the city to halt public review of its proposal until a developer is hired and city officials address key issues, such as the potential use of eminent domain and provisions for affordable housing.”

This week in environmental justice: the National Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit on behalf of ten Hunt’s Point residents, which claims that the odors from two sewage treatment plants in the area are making them sick.

At a public meeting on July 15, the Landmarks Commission will discuss whether to calendar the proposed Prospect Heights Historic District. Check out Atlantic Yards Report’s post from last year about the relationship of this district to the Atlantic Yards project.

City Planning has introduced yet another downzoning in Queens (with upzoning along the avenues). This time it’s 220 blocks of Laurelton, part of Queens CB 13. The public hearing will take place July 23.

Now, community groups in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, including the Northside Merchants Association and Task Force members Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, as well as the website Billburg.com, have teamed up to bring a similar experiment to Bedford Avenue, the neighborhood’s main drag.

The project, called Williamsburg Walks, will close Bedford Avenue between Metropolitan Avenue and N. 9th Street to traffic on four consecutive Saturdays beginning July 19. The project’s website states, “If this four week experiment is a success, we hope to extend it and consider the possibility that Bedford Avenue could be closed every Saturday the same way Orchard Street has been closed on Sundays since the 60s.”

Interested in reclaiming a street from cars in your neighborhood? Check out the New York City Streets Renaissance (NYCSR)’s Block Party NYC page, where you can find a list of this summer’s NYCSR’s-sponsored block parties, and apply for a grant to host one next year.

A coalition of 25 community and good-government groups, including Task Force Members Develop, Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, and NYPIRG, filed an new appeal yesterday in the legal case challenging the environmental review and approval process for the Atlantic Yards development. (Lawyer-types can find the detailed information here).

DDDB explains: “The appeal focuses on the plaintiffs’ charge that the lower court erred in numerous respects, including the following:

• The State’s determination that the project site is “blighted” was illegitimate, was illegitimate, and manufactured by the developer to take valuable private property via eminent domain.

• The State had no authority to approve the Barclays Center Arena because it is not a “Civic Project” as defined under the Urban Development Corporation Act (UDCA).

• The State violated the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) by failing to consider the possibility of terrorism and other security breaches on the Project.

• The State violated SEQRA by grossly misrepresenting the project’s construction timeline, thereby minimizing the project’s impacts, and not requiring adequate mitigation.

• The State violated SEQRA when it failed to adequately study alternative locations for the proposed Project, including locating the arena in Coney Island.

• The PACB violated SEQRA by approving the project without considering its environmental impacts and failing to make its own SEQRA findings.”

A victory in this lawsuit would require a the developer to undertake a new environmental impact study, and would also require a new vote on the project by the Public Authorities Control Board.

Earlier this year, Mayor Bloomberg asked all the city’s community boards to prepare for drastic cuts to their already-meager $200,000/year budgets, which pay for all staff salaries and expenses (other than rent and utilities).  In May, we submitted testimony at a City Council Executive Budget Hearing, calling for the Council to oppose these cuts, which threatened to completely cripple boards’ abilities to undertake their City Charter-mandated planning functions.

Now, we are pleased to report that, through negotiations between the Mayor and the City Council, the proposed cuts have been avoided this year.

However, according to Craig Hammerman, District Manager of Brooklyn’s Community Board 6, the fight to preserve community boards is not over.  Gowanus Lounge recently posted the following quote from an email from Mr. Hammerman: “The Mayor’s proposed cuts still exist as taking effect in fiscal year 2010 and beyond. This means that if the Mayor does not change his fiscal year 2010 budget, we’ll have to do the same thing next year and fight to defend our budget. We have some time to convince the Mayor of the value of a strong community voice in government. His 2010 Executive Budget isn’t due out until January 2009.”

Transportation Alternatives has a new contest called Designing the 21st Century Street, which asks entrants to submit design proposals for the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street in Brooklyn. The design should “apply a green transportation hierarchy – pedestrians first, bicyclists second, cars third.” The winner will receive a $6000 prize. According to the website, “We are especially interested in ideas from unconventional street designers, including students from all grades (K-12), community groups, block associations and artists.”

City Room examines yet another result of community boards’ meager budgets - lack of language interpretation services, and the implications for important community issues such as the rezoning of the linguistically-diverse Lower East Side. “We don’t have a specific policy,” said Susan Stetzer, the district manager for Manhattan Community Board 3. “The city has no resources for us. It’s a very difficult problem.”

In historic preservation, a proposal by the 93rd St. Beautification Association to require a 90-day review period for demolitions of historically significant buildings that are more than 50 years old is gaining some momentum, according to The Real Estate.

Have a safe holiday!

Around midnight on Monday night/Tuesday morning, Queens Community Board 7 approved the EDC plan for the redevelopment of Willets Point by a 20-15 vote. However, according to a press release, “those board members who approved the plan imposed such severe conditions that the vote was tantamount to a rejection.” The conditions include:

• More affordable housing - the board wants 30 percent of the project devoted to real affordable housing for low-income New Yorkers, as opposed to the the City’s 20 percent set aside for low- and middle-income families;

• A substantial mitigation fund - the City has offered the community board $5 million to mitigate the impacts of this project, while the board has asked for 10 percent of the project cost (which translates to about $300 million);

• Real Community Board oversight of the project - the board wants an ongoing and active oversight role in the project if it moves forward, while the City has promised toothless quarterly meetings with an unknown developer who will have no obligation to heed the community’s advice or concerns;

• Limited use of eminent domain to steal private property - the board sanctioned the use of eminent domain but expressed clear concern about the City’s plans to seize land that is 100 percent owned by private citizens (with the exception of the streets).

The next stop in ULURP for the Willets Point Plan will be the City Planning Commission. Stay tuned for info.

Jeanne DuPont, Executive Director of the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance (RWA), is the 2008 winner of the Municipal Art Society’s Yolanda Garcia Community Planner Award.

This award acknowledges the often-unsung leaders of grassroots, community-based planning. It was created to commemorate the work of Ms. Yolanda Garcia, a community activist in the South Bronx who passed away in 2005.  Selected from an open nomination process by a panel of judges consisting of former honorees and leaders in the community planning field, the awardee must have no formal training in planning, and must have demonstrated his or her ability to overcome the many obstacles to grassroots planning and bring neighborhood need and vision into New York City’s planning process.

As the Executive Director of RWA, a grassroots community organization that promotes public waterfront access in Far Rockaway, a barrier island in southeast Queens, Jeanne has worked closely with the community and local youth to develop long-term planning and redevelopment strategies.

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Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) hosted a community meeting in Flushing, Queens on June 12, 2008 to discuss the Willets Point Development plan. The meeting was co-sponsored by the Queens for Affordable Housing coalition (QFAH). AAFE sent out the following meeting summary, in preparation for tonight’s Community Board 7 public hearing on the Willets Point plan, which will be held at 6pm at 33-23 Union Street in Flushing.

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This week, the Department of Transportation launched its new Public Plaza Program. The project, which grew out of the PlaNYC 2030 goal that every New Yorker should live within a 10-minute walk of a park or “quality open space,” seeks to work with community-based organizations to transform underused streets (and other DOT property) into vibrant, social public spaces. Sites will be selected based on community initiative and need, with priority given to neighborhoods that lack open space. Eligible non-profit community groups that will commit to managing the new spaces can propose sites for their neighborhoods through a competitive application process. (Photo via Streetsblog).

Mayor Bloomberg and the State Legislature reached an agreement to construct a waste transfer station in Manhattan on the Gansevoort Peninsula. While this advances the city’s Solid Waste Management Plan and relieves some environmental burden from the already overburneded outer boroughs, opponents felt that the location would compromise a large section of Hudson River Park, located in an area already lacking in open space options. City Room breaks down the conflict’s history.

Speaking of the West Side, Friends of the High Line revealed new images of the High Line’s design.

The City’s new Coney Island presentation is now online (warning: PDF).

Coming on Monday: a City Council bill that would require community impact review for projects that receive public subsidies. It’s not clear exactly how this would differ from environmental impact studies (already required for many large-scale projects), but regardless we like this quote from Council Member Bill De Blasio: “Development should be done with the community, not to the community.”

And finally, from the Bruce-Ratner-is-desperate file: tonight, partners and surrogates of the developer, who has consistently ignored the community from day one, throw an Atlantic Yards “Block Party” that is “All about the community!” Develop, Don’t Destroy points out that this may be the first ever block party organized and thrown by people who don’t actually live on the block.

Yesterday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved revised plans for the redevelopment of the Domino Sugar Factory on the Williamsburg waterfront. The new plan includes less glass on top of the historic factory building, and saves the complex’s iconic sign, as shown in this rendering, via the NY Observer.

Developer Michael Lappin of CPC Resources implied in a statement that the new design may threaten some of the planned affordable housing: “The reduction in size translates into a loss of more than 20,000 square feet of residential space or over 20 apartments. This presents an economic challenge that we must meet to fulfill our firm commitment to develop 660 affordable housing units,” he said.

On Thursday, the Milano School for Management and Urban Policy at the New School hosts the inaugural program in its Cities Respond to Climate Change series. John Podesta, President of the Center for American Progress, and former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton, will deliver the keynote address, followed by a panel discussion with:

Susan Anderson, Director of Sustainable Development, City of Portland, Oregon
Kenny Esser, Policy Advisor, Office of New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine
James T. Gallagher, Senior Vice President for Energy Policy, NYC Economic Development Corporation
Ashok Gupta, Air and Energy Program Director, Natural Resources Defense Council
Max Schulz, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute Center for Energy Policy and the Environment

moderated by:
Andrew C. Revkin, Science Reporter, The New York Times

When: 6pm

Where: Wollman Hall, Eugene Lang Building, 65 West 11th Street, 5th floor

RSVP here.

As a followup to the People’s Accountable Development Summit, held earlier this month, the Brooklyn-based Fifth Avenue Committee hosts the first Accountable Development Working Group Meeting tonight.

When: 6pm

Where: Fifth Avenue Committee, 621 DeGraw Street (near 4th Avenue), Brooklyn.

For more information, contact Dave at 718-237-2017 or via email.

After the jump, read the Fifth Avenue Committee’s Accountable Development Principles, which include: affordable housing, living-wage jobs, sustainable environmental practices, and accountable process.

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Yesterday, during the last scheduled day of the legislative session in Albany, New York lawmakers reached a new deal on the revitalization of brownfield sites. Newsday reports:

“The old brownfields cleanup program provided tax credits of 10 to 22 percent of the cost of cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated land. But the program was suspended last year after spending $3.1 billion on a little more than 200 projects.

Under the old formulas, developers were able to claim tax credits of more than $100 million to redevelop sites in midtown Manhattan and other economically vibrant areas that had only scant contamination. This time around, Paterson said, the state will boost its maximum share of cleanup costs from 20 percent to 50 percent of the costs; it also will give tax credits for redeveloping the site equal to no more than three times the cost of cleanup, or $35 million, whichever is less. Manufacturing sites would get up to six times the cost of cleanup, or $45 million.”

According to the article, some involved in this legislation remained skeptical that the new program would benefit low-income communities or guarantee community benefits.

News from Task Force Members Develop, Don’t Destroy Brooklyn: The US Supreme Court has denied the petition to grant a hearing to to eleven property owners and tenants challenging developer Forest City Ratner’s legal rights to use eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards development project. Now, the plantiffs will file an action in New York state court.

In a statement, lead attorney Matthew Brinckerhoff of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP said, “We are, of course, disappointed that the Court declined our request to hear this important case. This is not, however, a ruling on the merits of our claims. Our claims remain sound. New York State law, and the state constitution, prohibit the government from taking private homes and businesses simply because a powerful developer demands it. Yet, that is what has happened. Recent events have revealed that the public, and the Public Authorities Control Board were sold a bill of goods by Ratner and the Empire State Development Corporation. We now know that Ratner’s project will cost the public much more than it will ever receive.”

Council Member Gale A. Brewer, the Urban Justice Center, and the West Side SRO Law Project are sponsoring a free housing clinic (and the last one this spring) from 6:00 - 8:00 PM on Wednesday, June 18 at Goddard Riverside Community Center, 647 Columbus Avenue, Manhattan at 92 Street. It will provide a presentation on personal use (or other housing questions), followed by a question and answer session. At least one staff attorney will meet with individuals who are seeking specific legal advice. For questions, contact the Urban Justice Center at 646-459-3017 or the office of Council Member Brewer at 212-873-0282.

This morning at City Hall, Brooklyn elected officials, including Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries and City Council Members Letitia James and David Yassky, called for the passage of the Atlantic Yards Governance Act. This Act would create a 15-member development trust to manage the Atlantic Yards project, theoretically redistributing power over the project’s master plan from developer Forest City Ratner to the public.

According to the NY Observer, Jeffries said, “Atlantic Yards is a public project built on public land using public money overseen by a public entity for a public purpose. It therefore deserves maximum public participation during the life of this project.” However, the Observer also points out, a majority of the trust would be appointed by the Governor.

Blogger Flatbush Gardener attended the Department of City Planning’s preliminary public hearing on Thursday regarding the rezoning of the northern section of Brooklyn Community District 14, which includes part of Flatbush, Prospect Park South, Ditmas Park, Fiske Terrace, South Midwood, etc. The goal of the plans is four-fold:

1) Preserve the existing free-standing (detached) single- and two-family houses.

2) Match new zoning to existing buildings as closely as possible without “under zoning.”

3) Encourage creation of affordable housing through incentives.

4) Create opportunities for commercial growth.

Flatbush Gardener has a thorough overview of the hearing, and goes into detail with case studies explaining how the rezoning will affect certain areas. A main concern in the neighborhood seems to be that the rezoning could threaten the area’s historic Victorian homes. The proposal has not been certified yet, so ULURP has yet to begin.

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Meanwhile, DCP has certified, and begun the ULURP process, for a contextual rezoning of Waldheim, Queens, located southeast of downtown Flushing. According to DCP, the rezoning would,

“-preserve the predominantly lower-density character of the Waldheim neighborhood;

-ensure that future development be consistent with existing development patterns;

-reformulate commercial zoning to be more reflective of existing development patterns;

-and provide limited opportunities for new housing development in areas most able to support it.”

Queens Community Board 7 has until August 11 to hold a public hearing and issue a recommendation.

What do YOU think? Considering that PlaNYC 2030 posits that New York City will have a million more people by 2030, are downzonings like these good for the City’s future? How can the Administration balance the need for growth with the preservation of neighborhood character?

The NY Times reports that a proposed change to tax-exempt financing bonds could mean a “question mark” for three projects: the proposed Barclay’s Center at Atlantic Yards (rendering seen here via Curbed), the new Yankee Stadium, and Citifield.

The City Council voted “no” on a proposed rezoning in College Point, Queens. Was it just about affordable housing, or, the NY Observer asks, was it politically motivated?

The NY Times explored the new 125th Street. It also reported on the DOB’s charges against architect Robert Scarano for ignoring zoning requirements. And, the Times’ City Room blog is now taking questions about mass transit for Gene Russianoff, staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign.

Curbed reports that tonight, some East Villagers will be protesting the loss of the “gritty” character of the neighborhood, meanwhile the punks are returning to their namesake bench in Tompkins Square Park.

Streetsblog relaunched on Wednesday. Check it out and become a member of the Livable Streets Network.

Over the next two Saturdays, two events in Harlem offer the opportunity for public participation.

The West Harlem Local Development Corporation is a group of community representatives, including local residents, businesses, elected officials and members of Community Board 9, that is negotiating the Community Benefits Agreement with Columbia University. This Saturday, June 14, they are hosting a community meeting, addressing the following:

• Your priorities for community development
• How will Columbia’s expansion plans affect you?
• Learn about the LDC activities to date.

When: Sat., June 14, 10 am. Where: Manhattanville Community Center, 530 West 133rd Street

Next Saturday, June 21, the Harlem Tenants Council is sponsoring a rally against displacement and gentrification. More info from the organizers after the jump.

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Back in February, when decided to follow the public process for the City’s Coney Island Rezoning, explaining each phase in detail, we didn’t know just how complicated things would get. Now, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development has scheduled a second public scoping hearing for June 24.

February’s post explains the public scoping process in detail, and we encourage you to revisit that in preparation for the upcoming hearing. The reason for the second hearing is that the City has modified its plan so dramatically since February that it required a revised Environmental Assessment, and a revised Draft Scope of Work for the Environmental Impact Statement. (Both documents are available for download here).

According to the Department of City Planning, the major changes to the plan include reducing the amount of mapped parkland from 15 to 9 acres, and increasing the area of Coney East from 9 to 15 acres, which will be zoned for enclosed amusements, entertainment retail, and hotels.

The process for this scoping hearing remains the same as February’s, but comments must be made on the updated documents.

The public Scoping Meeting will be held on Tuesday February 24, 2008 at 6:00 PM at Abraham Lincoln High School, 2800 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY. The public may also respond in writing, to:

New York City Economic Development Corporation
110 William Street
New York, New York 10038
Attention: Rachel Belsky, Vice-President
rbelsky@nycedc.com

In the Inbox today, an update from the City Council about the rent increases recently recommended by the Rent Guidelines Board, and info about two opportunities to speak out for keeping affordable housing affordable:

Dear Friend,

Our city is at a crossroads.

As you may know, on Monday, May 5, 2008, the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) held its preliminary vote and recommended increases of 3.5 percent to 7 percent for one-year leases and 5.5 percent to 9.5 percent for two-year leases.

Although these proposed increases are not as large as had been recommended by some, we are deeply concerned about the effect that even modest rent increases will have on more than 2 million lower- and middle-class New Yorkers, including many of our most financially vulnerable neighbors - seniors, the disabled and others living on fixed incomes.

We must act now to ensure that these residents can continue to afford to live in their communities and homes, or risk losing the very heart and soul of our city.

We urge you to testify at one of the following upcoming RGB public hearings:

These public hearings are the next critical stage in our fight to save New York City’s rent stabilized apartments. We hope you will join us in sending a strong, clear message to the RGB: Act now to help tenants! Refrain from increasing rents on those who can least afford it.

As the first class of City Council members elected under the term limits law in 2001 prepares to leave office next year, the New York Times notes that 20 of the 35 Council members who are being term-limited out have filed with the Campaign Finance Board to run for another position.  Meanwhile, “at least a dozen” people who are planning to run for open Council seats, “have budding or established political careers.”

So has the term-limits law “take(n) the power away from the politicians and return(ed) it to the people,” as originally intended?  The article has politicians and advocates from both sides of the issue weighing in.  This is definitely an important read considering that speculation is rampant that Mayor Bloomberg’s upcoming Charter Revision Commission will look into changing Mayoral term limits.  Since the Commission will be examining the entire City Charter, a change to Council term limits could be on the table for discussion as well.

This week, the “Unofficial Mayor” of Coney Island, Dick Zigun, resigned from the Coney Island Development Corp., siting major changes to the city’s Strategic Plan, which were made without consultation from the CIDC. The Daily News quoted his letter to Mayor Bloomberg: “The CIDC plan promised a world-class tourist attraction with an entertainment core - lots of rides complemented by year-round nightclubs and enclosed water parks. Instead the core will now be rezoned for a shopping mall full of Niketowns, Toys ‘R’ Us and four 30-story hotels.”

The Atlantic Yards project had a fake rally, and got a new manager, as Governor Paterson appointed Robert G. Wilmers as the new head of the Empire State Development Corporation.

In yet another blow to affordable housing in New York City, the State Court of Appeals ruled that a wealthy family can evict rent-stabilized tenants from the East Village building that they purchased, as long as they can prove that they plan to use all 15 apartments for themselves for at least three years.

The Center for an Urban Future released a study this week titled Recipe for Growth (PDF), calling for City economic development officials to support more kitchen incubators for small food entrepreneurs.

Community-based Planning Task Force members City Lore have created an online, interactive map titled “City of Memory.” Using a similar format to our Atlas of Community-based Plans, this online community map shows personal stories and memories organized on a physical geographical map of New York City. City Lore has added many stories, some organized into short “tours” with photographs and video, and the public is invited to visit and add their own stories as well. Check it out!

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s office is accepting applications for its 2008-09 Community Planning Fellowship Program for second-year graduate planning students. This program pairs students with community boards, where students work 15 hours per week with board staff and membership to address planning priorities. Applications will be accepted through June 16. More info after the jump.

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The NYC Economic Development Corporation today announced the selection of three Brooklyn non-profit organizations, including Community-Based Planning Task Force members Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (formerly Neighbors Against Garbage), to redevelop two former firehouses.

The Brooklyn Philharmonic will turn one site on Degraw Street in Cobble Hill into the BP Music Center, which will house the orchestra and serve as a community cultural center.

NAG and the People’s Firehouse will turn a second site in Williamsburg into the Northside Town Hall Community Center and Cultural Center, which will contain the offices of both organizations, and meeting space, exhibition and performance/rehearsal space for local arts organizations. According to EDC, all three organizations plan to preserve the character and appearance of the 19th Century firehouse buildings.

“Good economic development should always be accompanied by development that makes communities more attractive places to live and work. I am pleased that EDC was able to assist in this remarkable effort to redevelop these historic firehouses for use by and service to their communities,” said EDC President Seth W. Pinsky. “The projects will also provide growth opportunities for three important not-for-profit community cultural organizations.”

At this very moment at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall, developer Bruce Ratner is sponsoring “Brooklyn Day,” to celebrate the Atlantic Yards project with music, food, and guest appearances by Nets basketball players, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and other guest speakers.

Many opponents and elected officials believe that the rally (for which Ratner is footing the bill), is an attempt to generate a false sense of community support for the project, as a prelude to asking for more government subsidies.

According to No Land Grab, the Building and Construction Trades Council has actually shut down all Downtown Brooklyn job sites so that members can attend the rally. But what of the average Brooklynite? How out of touch with Brooklyn must Ratner be to sponsor a rally at 11am on a Thursday, when most regular people are at work? Or perhaps he knows that community members wouldn’t attend anyway.

Develop, Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s Daniel Goldstein summed it up nicely: “For a project long sold as a ‘done deal’ today’s ‘rally’ is a desperate attempt to boost a deal that’s come undone and is on the precipice of failure. Confident developers simply don’t manufacture extravaganzas like today’s.”

Another opportunity to ask an expert this week: over at the NY Times’ City Room Blog, Ned Sullivan, the president of Scenic Hudson, will be answering questions about how New York City and its residents can preserve land and promote smart growth along the Hudson River. Readers are invited to submit their questions about preserving land and creating public parks and about environmentally friendly, sustainable development. Check it out!

In the Inbox today, from our friends at the Center for Urban Pedagogy:

“In the Bronx, bodegas are a way of life. But who chooses what the bodegas sell? And where do all those chips come from?

This semester, students from New Settlement’s Bronx Helpers and CUP teaching artist Jonathan Bogarín have been investigating bodegas in the Bronx. The group interviewed bodegueros, visited their suppliers, and met with congressional representatives, health professionals, and alternative Bronx food establishments. They’ve made a documentary to pass along what they’ve learned.

Join us at The Point for the world premiere screening of Bodega Down Bronx. Bronx food distribution luminaries and delights fresh from the bodega shelves will be on hand.”

Bodega Down Bronx
Tuesday, June 3, 7 pm
The Point
940 Garrison Avenue, Bronx, NY
6 to Hunts Point Avenue
Free and open to the public. Seating is limited, please RSVP

Check out the trailer after the jump.

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On Tuesday, June 3 from 2-3pm, Gotham Gazette will host a live web chat with Tom Angotti, Hunter College professor, Gotham Gazette land use columnist, and member of the Executive Committee of the Community-Based Planning Task Force.  He will be available to answer questions and offer his views about what the plan does and does not do, its strengths and its weaknesses.

To participate, go to GothamGazette.com tomorrow at 2pm.  You can also submit pre-chat questions here.

Starrett City, located near East New York on Brooklyn’s Jamaica Bay, is the country’s largest Federally subsidized housing complex.  Since the complex went up for sale in 2006, community members and affordable housing advocates have been concerned about the future status of the 5,881apartments there, which house 14,000 residents.  In March 2007, HUD blocked a proposed $1.3 billion sale to investors Clipper Equity L.L.C., saying that the investors failed to show how they would retain the complex’s affordability, considering the high sale price.

Today, the New York Times reports that Starrett City’s owners have reached a deal with Federal, State, and City officials to ensure that the complex will remain affordable, no matter who wins the bidding process.  In exchange, the government has agreed not to block a sale.  In addition, Senator Charles Schumer has proposed legislation to convert the units to the federally subsidized, 20-year Section 8 housing program.  The legislation is expected to pass this summer.

The City Planning Commission revealed it’s plans for a Gowanus rezoning to the community board last night.  DCP also has two more new plans currently in consideration by their respective community boards: a St. George Special District on Staten Island, and a rezoning of Dutch Kills in Queens.

The Parks Department released it’s Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for the Fresh Kills Park Project on Staten Island. (rendering pictured, via Parks)

A way to deal with the NYCHA budget crisis: Market rate housing on public housing parking lots?

Manhattan BP Stringer’s office examines privately-owned public spaces, uncovers lots of problems.

This Saturday, May 31, the South Brooklyn Accountable Development Initiative (a project of the Fifth Avenue Committee) is hosting the People’s Accountable Development Summit. The summit seeks to create dialogue and forge alliances among residents and various community stake holders in Brooklyn facing large developments, re-zonings and other land use changes.

The centerpiece of the Summit will be a series of panel discussions on four major accountable development topics: Housing, Labor, Environment, and Process.

The Summit will take place at PS 282 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 180 6th Avenue (btw. Lincoln and Berkley) . It is free, and food, Spanish translation, and childcare will be provided. For more information, contact Dave Powell at dpowell@fifthave.org or 718-237-2017 ext 148.

Check out the full schedule after the jump.

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