Unless more affordable housing is added, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will oppose the Astoria Cove redevelopment project.
Developer Alma Realty is proposing that 20 percent of the units are affordable. That works out to 345 apartments. In total, the project will have more than 1,700 units.
For Mark-Viverito, as well as local Councilman Costa Constantinides, that’s not enough non-market rate apartments, according to Capital NY.
“They have to step up to the plate and go further than where they are right now,” Mark-Viverito said during a recent press conference.
The redevelopment plan was presented to the city council on Monday, when the first committee hearing on the subject was held.
The city council, the mayor’s office and the developers will negotiate a deal behind closed doors in the coming days, according to the website. The council is expected to vote on the project at the end of November. [Capital NY] — Claire Moses