992-Unit Bronx Affordable Housing Project Approved
The City Council approved the La Central this week, a five-building, 992-unit, 100% affordable housing project in the Bronx.
The property will hold a new YMCA, a skate park and an observatory for Bronx Science High School, and is the largest affordable project approved under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s mandatory inclusionary housing rules, which requires projects that need city approval to have income-restricted apartments, the New York Daily News reports.
The plans under the rules have faced resistance in the recent past, with the Council rejecting a development in Inwood.
“This affordable housing crisis hurts families, from those struggling in poverty to those trying to make it into the middle class,” de Blasio said after the vote. "With the backing of the City Council, we are making sure that a thousand more Bronx families will be safe in new affordable homes."
Councilman Rafael Salamanca approved the project after the developers agreed to set aside apartments in each building that will rent for around $640/month for families making about $23,310.
This is quite a drop from the original plan, which catered to families of three making $38,850 and had rents hovering around $1,070. Rents could go up as high as $2,780 for households making as much as $101,010.
Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said de Blasio needs to be more “proactive and engaged” with the council if he wants more housing projects to get approved. [NYDN]
