Minutes October 2007
October 3 Community Board
10 Minutes
Affordable units
Homeownership $34,720 - $616,650.00
Ms. Jenkins- NYC Area of 56K
not the 70K
Chair: Have HPD respond to
AMI.
Speaker: HUD issues the AMI (Area Median Income) it is not determined by the City.
For 2006 it was $70,900K for
a family of four, 2007 it is around 56, 57, 58K. However does
not recognize the lower end. They have frozen the AMI at the 2006
level, because it is dropped so far down, it is taken as an anomaly.
So they are going to wait another year or two years to see if it remains
consistent or if it goes up or down. It is not a City decision
it is a Federal Government Decision.
Another issue, no matter what
the AMI is. Home ownership can only be supported at certain levels.
If you make the income too low for home ownership you run into problems.
You have to make mortgage payments. If there are repairs, there
is no super to call. The landlord is not going to cover it, the
resident has to cover it. There must be savings and reserves to
cover those things. HPD as an agency does not want to set people
up to fail. We are not going to do home ownership below
certain levels. We do not believe it is wise.
Chair: The rates between
the first meeting and the second meeting were about $20,000 less.
We did get the homeownership rates lower in all of the units.
Ms. Barbara: Who are
the officers that will protect the $2.8M condominiums and the coops
and brownstones in that area?
Chair: The police spaces
that she is referring to are parking spaces. Right now the police
have control over 2 of the lots, they have impound cars on two of the
lots. So that the way that this project has been structured, there
is going to be a secure parking facility within the other parking facility
where those impound cars will be held. It does not mean that those
police officers will be sitting in the parking spaces. Impound
cars sit there.
Police protection- There are
some units that are withheld or targeted for city workers and police
officers. 5% of the affordable housing is available in most of the projects
that come before us.
Developer: These parking spaces
are not accessible by human beings parking their cars. They are
accessible by the Parking Attendant or the tow truck operator via the
elevator. So there are no parking spaces reserved for high ranking
officers from across the street or special officers for this building.
Tow trucks will pull in, go
down in the elevator and bring in immovable impound cars. Back
them into a secure facility that has a security system and a gate in
the lower section of the garage and leave them there. Part
of the issue has been that cars were getting broken into while they
were on the impound lot. This is a much more secure facility for
those impound cars.
New Speaker: Condominiums
are not selling. They are now being rented out for as much as
$12M. In this market right now, there is an oversupply of Condo’s.
Does he feel to stay strictly condo or potentially commercial.
Does the building have a lottery process for every apartment.
Does the subsidized apartment
come with restrictions? Is the owner allowed to sell the apartment,
if they move in a certain price range.
HPD: 15 year restriction
on the affordable unit. The first five years any profit from resell
or anyone makes from the unit goes back to the city. The next
10 years, increases every 10 percent of the profit they have to pay
back to the City. After 15 years they are free to sell it.
HPD we do a lottery on affordable
houses.
Daniel Perez: In 2006,
there was an agreement signed by the chair of board 9, 10 and 11 and
12 that we would not approve any plan for housing that pioneers of the
Harlem Community could not afford. The pioneers are the
people who stayed in the area when everybody left, and brought the area
back. My question, is if we made that agreement, why are
we still going along with condominiums when we cannot afford the condominiums
as we live in Harlem, educated in Harlem and the trades that we received
in Harlem do not enable us to purchase the Condominiums. We do
you continue to approve programs that our people cannot afford.
Chair: If you look at
the affordability on this project, we are talking about a teacher by
themselves, a postal worker, by themselves affording some of these units.
These are some of the most affordable condominiums that we have seen.
Harlem has the lowest home ownership rate of any community in NYC.
We cannot control our community if we do not own it.
Julius Tajiddin: NYC
Zoning law requires division of all street and parking for most new
developments. Parking at the site of the new development helps
eliminate congestion on nearby streets. In areas where additional
parking would generate more traffic than desired, and where mass transit
is available, the requirement for on site parking is reduced or eliminated.
At that first meeting, the place was 28th Precinct, slowed
down on the project because of the parking situation. They stated
that parking would not be desirable on Frederick Douglas Blvd.
If you are holding a second
meeting, you needed to invite me, you didn’t invite the people who
attended the first meeting.
So we would have permits, that
would have a fair representation of 28th Precinct position
on parking aspect of this project. But now you held a second meeting,
which this is issue is not even an issue.
Parking spaces, not a mandatory
thing, it is not going to work in that area. Sometimes you cannot
have on site parking.
Chair: The 28th
precinct is in favor of this project, that is why they conceded control
of the land to HPD for this project. I know that representation
from the 28th Precinct are here. Could
you please come forward.
Also, the development of this
size mandates parking. You are looking at a general comment, you
are not actually looking at zoning of the project. It is mandates
parking and one of the things that you must understand also is the reason
why underground parking is mandated is alleviate congestion. When
homeowners come in, they may have a car or two. In order
to accommodate the additional residential use in this development, there
is underground parking, so there is more parking added rather than parking
that is taken away.
Captain from the 28th Precinct: Issue with parking and impounded vehicles has been worked out. The issue with parking at least when it comes to police officers is contractual. The city agrees to allow certain parking spaces in the vicinity of the precinct
There is a specific formula.
Depending on how many police officers work a the precinct, they have
to provide parking for the police to come to work. The area across
the street, we decided we were going to use it for impound so that we
can free up some of the spaces around the precinct for the police officers
to park.
Ms. Martha: Land Use
Meeting 331 and section 0 (the secret meeting). I would like to
know if this board votes this down what will your position be?
Where there continue to be a project.
The committee makes a recommendation,
the full board ratifies it. So if the full board votes yes or
no that is the position of the full board.
Speaker: River to River
Project, we will decide this in our Business Section.
Chair: We will vote on
that in our business section.
Jabari Chair of Land Use: Rezoning
of 125th Street. 80% of the proposal we agree with.
The 20% we disagree with, we have grave concerns about. This is
not an issue of quantity but of quality. We clearly believe that
if the City Planning moves forward with its proposal, then it will irrevocably
change the face of 125 street and the face of the Harlem Community.
We agree with the concept of
having vibrant active 125th street later in the evening.
We believe that in some instances
that the low rise character of the neighborhood is preserved, particularly
the area around Marcus Garvey Park. Harlem is a neighborhood where
most of our buildings are no more than 5 stories. Some elements
of the proposal would have some of those areas to be as high as 29 stories.
We do agree with the concept
with maintaining the low rise nature of Marcus Garvey Park, we do have
grave concerns about height in other areas.
We believe that housing is
helpful.
We believe that creating a arts and entertainment core subdistrict that provides lots of space for arts and entertainment uses is something that we should do in our cultural corridor of 125th street.
We also believe that the attempt to create transparency in terms of
the fronts of stores, see through store gates instead of riot gates
is also better. It lends light to the street in evening hours.
There are at least 5 things
that we have grave concerns about.
There is going to be an over
emphasis of residential development on 125th street.
We believe that while the Harlem should maintain its low rise character,
we believe that those particular buildings could be a bit larger to
allow more business to take place on 125th street, particularly
more affordable spaces for indigenous folks that have been doing business
here for a long time but have been priced out.
Height – 290 feet, most people
don’t want anything to be taller than the Hotel Theresa. Hotel
Theresa is about 160 feet.
There are not provisions to
support any of the residential units that are proposed. Affordability.
Affordability of commercial
space. We believe that there is an over proliferation of
banks. In doing that we believe that we are not able to have more
of our business. Banks generally pay whatever you want them to
so it drives up the costs of the some of the major spaces on 125th
street. While the banks are focused on the corners, all the spaces
in between, their rates go up.
We asked the plans to be changed,
they were not changed. We need your support and assistance in
making sure that 125th street looks like the boulevard that
we want it to look like. Rather than the boulevard that folks
that don’t live here want it to look like.
Nicollette – co-chair of
the Land Use Committee to go through the proposal. How we can
preserve Harlem’s physical character through restrictions on buildings.
Maximal height should be 160 Feet.
Maximal building width should be 100 feet.
Side wall set backs.
Maximal retail frontage should
be a maximum of 50 feet.
Beatrice Sibblings: When
you make a change in zoning it affects the entire character of the neighborhood.
Harlem has one main commercial corridor which is 125th Street.
It increases the interest of developers to create residential development
on 125th Street and the way it does that is through concept
of development rights that you have. This is 40 year old zoning.
For every 1000 feet you have, you can build roughly 4000 feet, straight
up 4 stories, that will go from 4 to 8. Under the city planning
current zoning, that really only happens for residential. The
American Planning Association just came out with a study within the
last week defining 125th Street as one of the top 10 streets
of our country. 125th street is not broken. Why
fix it, why change it. City planning did its homework for three
years met with residents of Harlem and decided that the residents want
Housing – but the residents want affordable housing. The
City took that heart felt community meeting and used it to justify the
transformation of 125th Street into 86th street,
a luxury high rise community. When you push them on
it, they will quote you verse and say the community wants housing.
Yes the community wants housing but when you put $700,000 and $800,000,
million dollar condo’s on 125th Street, that is not what
the community is looking for. Buried in the details of the rezoning
is that eventuality. You cannot see it because it is a little
zoning number. But when you walk down 8th and 6th
avenue and you see single story buildings, those are called tax payers.
Where the developer puts in just enough to generate business to pay
the taxes. As soon as the zoning goes through, the tax payers
come crumbling down and the high risers come rushing up.
The horse is out of the barn. The rent for commercial space on 125th
street is $120 per foot. That means for 1000 square foot, you
have to pay 120K a year to rent commercial space on 125th
street. That is not for local business. When you rezone
125th street and it goes commercial, those tenants are going
out of business, they are going out of our neighborhood. We are
losing our small businesses, we are getting luxury residential.
And what are the jobs for luxury residential?? Food delivery.
We have an opportunity in NY to market. After 911, commercial
rents dropped. No one wanted to do business in NY. Commercial
rents are rising and will continue to rise. We have ____ looking
to build the first class A office building where the ______site, where
they have bought, bringing business and jobs to Harlem. Why when
the market is finally here, when we are being recognized as a top street
when top developers are bringing office space to Harlem and our small
business are growing, why is the time to turn 125th street
into Luxury residential? We have been told by these many
meetings that our input has been incorporated, the bid input is now
paragraph task 23 on page 35. We have been working with City Planning
for a year and we have 3 paragraphs and a foot note. We
were told that we have to fight them.
Jackie Halpern – attorney
for Save Harlem Tenant Association: Represents small
business owners who are being evicted from their livelihoods.
Kinco Realty and Siegfield group bought over 35,000 square feet of Harlem
Real Estate and plans to demolish this property that is so rooted in
Harlem Culture. They plan to destroy buildings that first housed
Malcom X’s office and the first African Americal Architecture.
It plans to terminate the leases of Harlem Business that poured their
blood, sweat and tears into their businesses in this community.
I am extending an invitation to you all to come rally for Harlem on Sunday 10/28 at 1 PM
outside this building.
If you are a politician that is not on our list, please contact us for
a speaking spot on our agenda. The event will be covered by the
media. The Harlem community is looking forward to the support
of its community leaders. I am happy to announce as
the attorneys for Save Harlem Tenants Association, we are currently
drafting legislation that directly speaks to the haphazard demolition
of Harlem. If language mandates that should Harlem real estate
be demolished, its replacement must offer percentage of low income housing
if residential and if commercial, a percentage of the space must be
rented to Harlem small businesses at a very reduced rent rate.
Please feel free to contact
me at any time. My Name is Jackie Halpern at Adam, Light and Bailey
P.C. , a real estate law firm downtown. 212-825-0365 x 1970.
Katwy Heru, Housing chair of
CB10: What is being proposed in reference to income targeted Housing.
At the June 30th
meeting what we attempted to do was to go through what we heard at several
meetings with the community board and more specifically with the community
in terms of what the needs are for this community specifically.
The median income in Harlem
at this time is about $26,000.00 annually. When you put that in
a construct that involves Housing, there are very real issues.
What is the give back to the
community that has been here, how does it relate to 125th
street. We are not looking for 42nd street to move
uptown. There is a reason why Harlem has maintained its dignity
and character over the years as the hub and mecca of Black America if
not the world. This community needs to preserve its character
and participate in this windfall of economic advantage. So we
are proposing that we look at income targeted units, those have to be
on site. Because the plan as it exists now, they take income targeted
housing and use the inclusionary bonus and make it within one mile of
a developer which means some of might end up getting a barge on either
the east river or the Hudson River. What we are suggesting is
that if we look at this scenario and develop concrete formulas around
it, which is where the struggle lies, we need to get the condo developers
if they do come up here, they will have to sensitive to the community’s
needs and willing to look at the some of the funding strategies and
subsidies that we are talking about that speaks to what the community
wants and if there is an issue around privatizing and we understand
what that means, if you are getting more space, they need to take
into account some of these constructs which talks about the units need
to be on site. We are not looking for them to be outside of the
community board. That income targeted requirement needs
to be set at 30% not at 20% and all those new residential units do not
need to be built on 125th Street. Use 124th
and 126th Street.
Get rid of the term of Affordable
– affordable to who. Income targeted – where is that money
going and who is going to be able to participate in that.
What we are proposing to you
to put a coalition around this because city planning has clearly taken
off the gloves. Mayor Bloomberg is moving full steam ahead with
this piece. We have to give the right community push back which
means we have to start lobbying our legislators, we have to start putting
the language on their lists so that when we go to the honorable Inez
Dickens, when we go to the Borough President’s office, they will know
where we stand because the constant thing that they are getting is that
we are not organized and are not being responsive to this at all.
Carlos Vargas-Ramos – Chair
of the Economic Committee, I also sit on the Transportation committee.
Wants the Landmark Preservation
Committee to pay attention to Harlem. 125th Street
is the best place to start.
Health: Harlem has serious
health disparities. Asthma is very high. For that
we are concerned about what types of materials are used when we build
these buildings. We are proposing that they use green designed
requirements in order to remove those environmental conditions that
exist in homes we have in Harlem.
Transportation and the repercussions
it has on health and quality of life throughout Harlem. This plan
does not address the recent proposal by the Mayor under the plan 23
for congestion pricing and how it would impact the Harlem Community.
Not just because Harlem can become a parking lot, but specifically because
Harlem can become like what Canal street is right now. Which is
the only River to River thorough fare that you do not have to pay a
toll or fee to go across town and that will have a serious impact on
transportation on 125th Street. No one has addressed
that.
The city has officially sanctioned
their proposal. Meaning, they have filed an application and this
community board has 60 days to give review of their proposal.
That clock is not going change. We have a counter proposal.
You can also give comments
and participate in this public review process. ULURP stands for
Uniform Land use Review Procedure. It starts here. Then
goes to the Borough President’s office, to City planning commission
and ultimately to the NY City council for final disposition to be approved
or changed.
We need to engage in very strategic
political activity right now. Line up behind a plan that counters
the city proposal and then every step of the way, we need to go the
forum where this is going to be heard, the borough president’s office,
the city planning commission and ultimately, the NY City Council.
New Speaker:
Benefits: We have to be able to afford to live in the project.
We have to maintain our culture. We have to put more into developing
our cultural institutions.
When we talk about jobs, do
not let them full you by saying we are going to give you 100 jobs and
we go in, clean, level the ground and the real workers come and make
the money. I propose this, we have to leverage the unions. There
are about 12 unions that make the projects work here. What we
need to do is to get the union to commit to apprenticeships. Once
you have an apprenticeship into a union, you go to the next job.
If you are not in the union, you cannot be counted.
We can have union people in
our zip codes and they do not get to the first job. So we have
to target those jobs. To our zip codes in terms of putting these
people in these jobs so automatically the go to the next job, the next
job and next job. It is about benefits.
Jabari: Question and
Answer and Comment section.
Michael McHenry Adams:
I would like to stress to the CB 10 – Landmarks. We need to
have buildings landmarks. Use landmarks to protect their community.
Need to keep control of our community.
Speaker: We need a Landmark
Committee. The elected has to know that they can stop the overdevelopment
of Harlem. If they cannot represent Harlem’s needs, we need
to vote them out. Now we have a congressman, 36 years that is too
long for somebody walking in Adam Clayton’s Powell’s shoes and not
fighting for this community. This is our community. I am
a carpetbagger 45 years. But I raised my children in Harlem so
that makes me a citizen of Harlem. So instead of blaming the Community
Board, we blame the people that put them in their positions. They
are there to do our business, the politicians, you have to wake up.
I am are tired. Why am I fighting for my grandchildren, my grown
children. I need a place to stay. Are you going to give me a place
to stay?
And Ms. Siblings - Thank you
for your comments. I did not think anyone was concerned about
the people of Harlem. Most of you have I issues with. You
are not doing the service of the people in my community. Tell
your boss to get ready because we are coming. We are going to
do Adam, we are going to do Malcolm X. We are going to Nationalist.
You can stay here and give us no benefits. Where is the youth
center. Complaining about the youth coming up, popping you upside
your head, grabbing your pocket book, knocking you down, your mother
and father down. All the people who have said something do not
want to hear the truth. Some people cannot get a loan.
We are voters. If you
have not registered to vote, please do.
Speaker: Do not sell
the soul of Harlem.
Speaker: We need to speak out
and we are determined to be heard.
Speaker: We must
not attack each other. The board is a volunteer organization.
The purpose for us tonight is to save our community and not to uphold
our personal agenda. We need common ground and work together.
Speaker: Micheal Minton
Criger. Pastor of Peace and Justice Ministry One World like system.
I have to put it in context of myself. White is a mental illness.
White privilege is a mental illness. I am Irish with radical relatives
and racists relatives. I am Italian with rational relatives and
racial relatives. I have been in Harlem in 1992. I
lost my home on Manhattan Avenue when I was with Rwandan Refugees in
1994 after Mayor Dinkins had been attacked. I was called a N-I-G-G-E-R
Lover at work. Welfare said they will do a one shot deal, go to
Africa. Then they lost my home. Now I am back.
Why do I get upset with what
I am seeing. In 1968 I went to occupied Ireland. The entire main
street was built by my Great, Great Grandfather. Like the African
Venders here who I help, my grandfather came here during the depression.
My grandmother who owned those houses rented to business who had their
business on the first floor and housing on the second floor.
After the war was over, after 15 years of not paying rent and my grandmother
asked for the rent, these business folk - because what is happening
to the black people of Harlem is what the British did to the Irish,
said no, squatters rights, squatters rights, you do not own this
anymore. So the business took what was our family, what was our
community and it is being done here. What I am concern with is
that I see more leadership on this side of the table than on that side.
Leadership does start with serving the people’s interest. In
Ireland I saw a billboard that said Irish are racists. In the upper
corner it said some, on the bottom it said are you. It was sponsored
by anti-inflammation youth council. I have to ask why is it that
the Lawfirm and myself has a nonblack, non-African American are going
with our backs against the wall to help ______. The oldest black only
business man on 125th Street. No politician has come.
No Inez Dickens, not the assembly people, not the congress person.
I am in my 48th month of a rent strike. I have already
one 42 months, the first –Joseph Black has been 9 years in state prison.
And 125th street, the management of my building, even though
we won our HPD case on 12/1, it took three NY 1 reports saying that
a 76 year old, 36 year tenant with terminal malady, living with no water.
But this guy closes 8 business and both of the corners of 125th
Street and St. Nicholas is supported by our council office. That
is not leadership. If I can stand up against a bully, I ask everyone
of you to know we the people are the power.
Chair: With the comments that
you have made, we actually agree with you. The documents that
we put forth is saying that we believe that City Planning is destroying
our main street. That is what we believe. We ask you to
come here because we want you to be aware of what is going on 125th
street, we want you to stand with us to stop it. We did not ask
you to come here to tell us that we want to up zone 125th
street, we want to sell it to people who do not live here. We
are saying the opposite. We actually agree with you. The document
speaks specifically to the issues. We ask that if you continue
that you at least talk about 125th street. This is
a dialogue, make it germane to the topic. 125th Street.
New Speaker- I live on strivers
row. Fear of extension. Please support what the board is doing. Big
money talks. We need Landmark Development. Michael Henry Adams
212-852-2556. Email Mrmhadams@aol.com He has a solution he will offer
for Housing and Landmarking. This stops developers in their
tracks.
Julius: Landmarks, landscape.
Blumesteins was the largest Department Store in Harlem.
Chair: It is important
the community be heard.
Julius: There is a certain
look that we in Harlem want maintained on this 125th street
corridor. If you allow to be torn down, or have other buildings
encroach upon them, you are hiding the history of 125th Street
and Harlem. There should not be a building higher than the Theresa
Building. We need to fight for Harlem. Fired up and
ready to go to save Harlem.
Jabari: Question:
they would allow things to 160 feet. The people of Harlem do not
want anything to be taller than the Theresa Hotel or as tall either.
Is that the sentiment here? People do not want the buildings to
be hidden or overshadowed. The buildings should not be taller
than 13 stories. Everything can be 160 feet- the crest of the
Theresa Building.
Question: What we have
to be concerned about is what the state does with the Victoria.
Because they come in and do eminent domain. If they get 42, then everyone
else in the city will say, I want 40. Please keep
that in mind.
New speaker: Since they
only understand numbers, we need to shut 125th street down
since we are the largest consumers. Then our politicians will
come to where they belong, then they will listen to what we have to
say. Harlem has changed. The problem is affordable
housing. Let’s do Landmarking. We need to stop bleaching
Harlem. What happens when you put bleach on colored clothes, you
ruin the fabric, you change the material, you change the color, its
ruined. I say stop bleaching Harlem.
New speaker: Barbara
Askins – 125th Street Business improvement district.
Dealing with City planning since 2004 – we need to have testimony
at these hearings that speak to the proposed actions the City Planner
has put forth. I suggest that we have a technical workshop to
help people write their testimony in ways to express our issues.
I will volunteer my time. It must be said in a language that addresses
the proposed actions.
New speaker: Choose people
for committee for volunteers for Testimony training.
Valerie Bradley: Rights
being taken away from Harlem Resident’s. I would like to know
if there has been coordination between CB 10,9, and 11 who are impacted
by the River to River project? Have you guys been working together
in developing a coordinated strategy?
New Speaker: Yes, I have
been speaking to Robert Rodriguez who is the chair for 11, I am always
in Jordan. You have three different boards that have 3 different
unique needs. Overall, we all agree in terms of benefits and heights.
Now how that turns out down the road we are not sure.
Robert – which is the eastside
does not have a problem with housing on 125th Street, where
as we do have some concern on 125th street. We prefer
to have it on 124, 126th. So to answer your question,
we are in communication. We do have to iron out some particulars.
But overall, we are in agreement that we should work together.
Valerie Bradley: So are you developing a combined effort? This will bring more weight to the City Planning Committee.
Jabari: One of the things is that 125th Street is different
in central Harlem from 125th Street in East Harlem and West
Harlem.
Our office will extend an offer
to bring CBD 9, 10 and 11 together.
Count:
Yes 10
No 21
Abstentions 10