Chetrit’s waterfront dreams get shot down by Greenpoint board

The Greenpoint community board gave a thumbs-down to Joseph Chetrit’s project at 77 Commercial Street and Park Tower Group’s project at Greenpoint Landing, citing the need for increased affordable and senior housing. The developers are looking to build a series of 40-story towers with 6,100 apartments in the neighborhood, a proposal that has attracted a lawsuit by area residents that aims to stop the projects from getting off the ground. 

And yesterday, Community Board 1 said that the project wasn’t doing enough for affordable tenants.

“This is our last chance for real affordable housing,” Del Teague, chair of the land use committee for Community Board 1, told DNAinfo. “We have a waiting list of seniors that’s so long, they’re dying before they get housed.”

The developers have offered affordable units to cater to residents who make 80 percent of the area’s median income. But the community board asked that the units cater to those making between 40 and 60 percent of the median income, according to DNAinfo.

A Chetrit Group spokesperson characterized the vote as “the beginning point of a dialogue” between the community and the builders.

“We understand what the board wants…and we will look at it,” spokesperson Edward Wallace said, adding that he wasn’t sure if the board’s demands were “economically feasible.”

Greenpoint Landing plans already include affordable housing as well as a public school and open space, a spokesperson for Park Tower Group said, but said that the community board’s requests would be reviewed. [DNAinfo]  – Hiten Samtani