Community board votes against inclusionary housing zone

Tribeca’s Community Board 1 decided this week not to create an inclusionary housing zone in northwest Tribeca that would allow taller buildings and require the construction of more affordable housing. The community board was considering allowing developers to construct buildings up to 120 feet tall on the northwest Tribeca block bounded by Canal, West, Watts and Washington streets, in exchange for making 20 percent of the residential units built there affordable. Instead, the community board has agreed to create an inclusionary housing zone around the Holland Tunnel, but there are very few sites there that could be developed into affordable housing, the city said. The city said that about 50 affordable housing units could have been created on the block bounded by Canal, West, Watts and Washington streets.