Deputy Mayor for Housing Leila Bozorg laid out plans to fast-track affordable housing in the city on Feb. 20, starting with a new development in the South Bronx.
Currently a vacant city-owned lot, 351 Powers Ave., in Mott Haven will become the Powerhouse Apartments. The apartment complex will consist of 84 units, including 30 for formerly homeless individuals, plus a theater, community rooms, a workforce development center and a 6,000-square-foot outdoor green space.
The building will run on all-electric power and be designed for sustainability in extreme heat and rain.
Thanks to changes in the city charter approved by voters last November, Powerhouse Apartments will likely be completed much faster than previous similar projects. The standard seven-month public review process under Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) will be shortened to just 90 days under a new acronym, Expedited Land Use Review Process (ELURP.)
Though the housing ballot measures were controversial among those who feared that an expedited process would cut out community voices and give too much power to borough presidents and the mayor, the changes ultimately received strong voter support.
For the announcement, Bozorg was joined by housing advocates and other city leaders who all emphasized the urgent need to create housing quickly. “New Yorkers can’t wait for affordability,” she said.
In addition to speed, the city is also focused on ensuring equity in where new projects are located, Bozorg said. The Affordable Housing Fast Track, which was also approved by voters, will create housing in the city’s 12 districts that have produced the least new affordable housing units.
“While neighborhoods and districts like the South Bronx in Council Member Encarnacion’s district are adding a lot of affordable housing, we know that many neighborhoods are not doing their part,” Bozorg said.
Housing Commissioner Dina Levy said that the Mott Haven ELURP project is just the beginning. “351 Powers will be the first, but there will be many more to come.”
“It means that we are creating housing that is affordable to the community that we are standing in today, to serve the families that live, work and raise their children in this neighborhood.”
The city will “use every tool in our arsenal” to build more quickly, including simplifying land use application processes, cutting red tape and reducing backlogs, while still maintaining transparency and safety, Levy said.
The council member representing East Harlem and the South Bronx joked that she wanted to henceforth be known as “Elsie ELURP Encarnacion.”
Although the new process will cut red tape at the government level, community input will not be compromised, she said, adding that she was pleased to kick off ELURP in the borough.
“The Bronx continues to lead in the conversation of housing,” Encarnacion said.
Annemarie Gray, executive director of the housing advocacy group Open New York, also applauded the speedier timeline after criticizing the ten years required for the recent Timbale Terrace project in East Harlem, which broke ground this week.
Gray said the charter changes will bring back more housing types that are currently banned under zoning laws and also give smaller developers, not just “the deepest-pocketed developers,” a better chance of winning projects of increased variety throughout the city.
“We are doing something that no major city has done yet: fixing the fundamental process and enabling more types of homes to be approved for years to come,” Gray said.
The new ELURP process for Powerhouse Apartments will begin with three months of review by the borough president and community board, preserving the same length of time as under ULURP. Bozorg said the city will release a comprehensive housing plan in the coming months.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
