From the September issue:

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Over the summer, New York City crossed the three-quarters mark on the way to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s goal of churning out 165,000 units of affordable housing by 2014. In his announcement of the milestone, the mayor boasted that the number of New Yorkers ultimately benefiting from the plan will exceed the total population of Miami.

Of course, Bloomberg has never been short of lofty ambitions. But he picked a challenging time to wager a piece of his legacy on real estate development.

In the midst of the financial turmoil over the past few years, few construction projects have made it off the ground. Bloomberg’s proposal, dubbed the New Housing Marketplace Plan, was launched in 2003 to spur the development and preservation of subsidized housing for low- to middle-income New Yorkers through a variety of funding programs and tax incentives. But it has already been altered to remain viable in today’s climate. [more]

Urban design firm Terreform One has a radical plan for the Brooklyn Navy Yards that fits perfectly with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s vision for a tech-heavy New York, but the firm won’t bother bidding to redevelop the site, the Brooklyn Daily reported.

The eco-architectural firm’s 12-by-8-foot prototype shows one large building with a roof made of mushrooms that slants further and further down until it becomes part of a “Super Dock” consisting of five docks. One would house three-dimensional printers that spew out entire fleets for the river, another would be a testing ground for scientists and another would produce electric scooters and solar panels.

“This is a large, heavy manufacturing site,” said Terreform One architect Maria Aiolova. “We want to preserve it, but bring in startups to share resources and experiment with new technologies.” [more]

Affordable housing projects by area

The city invested $1.25 billion during fiscal year 2011, which ended June 30, to create 3,873 units of affordable housing, and preserve 11,771 more for existing tenants, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials announced today. That investment is part of the $8.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan initiated in 2004 to build and preserve some 165,000 affordable housing units in the city by 2014. The city is now more than three-quarters towards that goal, having invested in 124,510 affordable homes, 41,556 of which are newly constructed.

The initiative also created 120,000 full-time equivalent, construction-related jobs. – Adam Fusfeld Comments

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed a 50-year resident of city public housing to fill the newly created Resident Board Member position on the New York City Housing Authority Board. The appointee, Victor Gonzalez, has served as the president of the Residents Association at the Rabbi Stephen Wise Towers near Columbus Avenue and West 90th Street on the Upper West Side since 2003. He spent 33 years working for United Parcel Service before retiring in 2005, served five years in the U.S. Air Force and has a Bachelor’s degree from Mercy College. – Adam Fusfeld [more]

From left: Rendering of the Harlem Children Zone’s Academy and the DREAM Charter School in Harlem

As charter schools increase their presence in the city, they’re acquiring land from an unexpected source: the New York City Housing Authority. Crain’s reported the authority is selling the land in order to preserve public housing.

The agency has been cash-strapped since the Bush administration ceased allocation of federal subsidies to the authority, but still owns a “huge chunk” of the city’s valuable land. According to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer the agency operates at a $42 million to $64 million budget deficit, and so it has begun selling its land for money to preserve affordable housing. The agency said that in its efforts to pursue “financial returns, socioeconomic impact and environmental sustainability” it has sold some of the land to the charter schools [more]

Renderings of the first section of the new East River Waterfront Esplanade

Mayor Michael Bloomberg today led the city in opening the first section of the new East River Waterfront Esplanade, that stretches from Wall Street to Maiden Lane. The opening is part of a $165 million project to transform two miles of city-owned land along the East River, from the southern edge of Manhattan to the East River Park that lies north of the Manhattan Bridge, into open public space. “One of the goals of the waterfront plan we unveiled earlier this year is to reconnect New Yorkers to New York City’s more than 500 miles of waterfront and make it part of their everyday lives, and the new esplanade will help do that for Lower Manhattan’s tens of thousands of residents, 300,000-plus workers and millions of visitors,” Bloomberg said.
– Adam Fusfeld [more]

Renderings of CREATE @ Harlem taking over the old Taystee Bakery complex

The city’s Economic Development Corporation selected three companies to redevelop two historic Harlem sites into more than 350,000 square feet of commercial and industrial space, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office announced today. The larger of the two sites, the Taystee Bakery complex that comprises six buildings on 125th and 126th streets near Amsterdam Avenue, will be developed by Janus Partners and Manodnock Construction. The $100 million project, called CREATE @ Harlem, will create 328,000 square feet of manufacturing, office, retail and community space, and is expected to house locally-based businesses including the Harlem Brewing Company, HerFlan bakery, and the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center. The latter of the three tenants is a non-profit promoter of local manufacturers, and as per the company’s mission, will lease its space to small manufacturing and artisan companies.
– Adam Fusfeld Comments

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The city took its first step towards the $13 million rehabilitation of Waterside Pier, between 38th and 41st streets along the East River, into a public park yesterday, GlobeSt.com reported. The project is funded completely by a $13-million lease fulfillment payment made yesterday by Consolidated Edison, whose lease expired last June. The site had gone unused for years, according to Con Ed. The money will help refurbish the pier’s structural components, and give way to a 34,000-square-foot park. [more]

Increasingly, it appears as though the city will build additional condominiums to fund maintenance of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, despite community opposition. The Daily News reported that city officials recently cut the park’s budget 20 percent to $44 million, from the initial $55 million pledge, and said the remaining money could be in jeopardy unless politicians can come to an agreement and sign off on the condo project. A recent report suggests the park would require a $16 million annual upkeep budget, but that the park could only raise up to $7 million per annum if it depends strictly on new fees and parking revenue. “It seems clear from the final outcome of the report that some residential housing is needed on the site,” said Nancy Webster, executive director of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. [more]

Christine Quinn and 127 West 25th Street (building source: PropertyShark)

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is attempting to block the July opening of a 328-bed homeless shelter in Chelsea, according to DNAinfo. The 12-story facility at 127 West 25th Street was built primarily to house 200 New Yorkers with a history of mental illness, while also providing space for a reception center and for victims of substance abuse. But Quinn penned letters to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York State Commisioner of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Elizabeth Berlin, saying the shelter, named the Bowery Residents Committee, does not comply with local zoning laws. [more]