Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and other New York City elected officials are expressing renewed concerns today about Mayor de Blasio’s zoning initiatives. The plans – Zoning for Quality & Affordability and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing – are meant to create new opportunities for affordable housing. Some critics believe the proposals are simply a giveaway to real estate developers.
Today Brewer released a letter the elected officials sent to Carl Weisbrod, chair of the City Planning Commission. Among those signing on are City Council member Rosie Mendez, U.S. Representatives Nydia Velazquez and Carolyn Maloney and State Sen. Daniel Squadron. City Council member Margaret Chin did not sign.
Last night, Community Board 3’s land use committee voted against Zoning for Quality & Affordability. It also voted to reject the mandatory inclusionary housing plan unless certain conditions are met. The Manhattan Borough Board will vote at the end of this month.
We’ll have a more detailed story today on the deliberations before CB3’s land use committee.
See Brewer’s letter below, followed by video from her public hearing on the zoning proposals earlier this week.
UPDATE: We spoke with a spokesperson for Council member Chin, who expanded on her decision not to sign onto the Brewer letter. It’s simply a question, we’re told, of being respectful of the community board process and refraining from speaking publicly about the proposals until all three Lower Manhattan boards have voted.
Letter to City Planning Regarding Zoning Text Amendments by The Lo-Down
