Joint Statement from Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Lincoln Restler on the Vote to Approve Monitor Point Rezoning

CITY HALL, NY - Today, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Lincoln Restler issued the following statement after the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and Committee on Land Use voted to approve the Monitor Point rezoning in Brooklyn:

"Today marks a major victory in the fight to make New York City more affordable. The Council took a significant step toward approving Monitor Point, a transformative majority-affordable housing development in Greenpoint that will create hundreds of permanently affordable homes, including supportive housing, deeply affordable apartments for seniors, and homes for working families.

"At the Council's insistence, the proposal was strengthened to increase the share of permanently affordable housing from 25% to 50%, nearly tripling the number of affordable units to more than 660. We also secured a commitment from the Administration to finally complete the long-promised Bushwick Inlet Park.

"This project reflects what is possible when we demand what New Yorkers deserve: more affordable housing, dynamic green spaces, and meaningful investments in public transit and other community benefits that make neighborhoods more livable. The City Council, the MTA, and the Mamdani Administration contributed to this public-private partnership on the waterfront. We thank the Council's Planning and Land Use Division, community advocates, and our neighbors whose advocacy helped make this outcome possible."

Highlights of the Monitor Point rezoning include:

• Approximately 1,324 total units, of which 662 (50%) are affordable, including:
  • 329 deeply affordable units at 40 to 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI)
  • 172 affordable moderate-income units at 80 to 125% of AMI
  • 161 units deeply affordable senior housing units at 30 to 50% of AMI
    • Approximately 110 (30%) of the affordable and senior units in one of the buildings in the project will be set aside for formerly homeless New Yorkers under the NYC 15/15 program.
  • This 50% affordable units will be delivered across two buildings: a mixed-income building with 958 units, 296 of which will be affordable, and a 100% affordable, 366-unit building financed by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
• A new home for the Greenpoint Monitor Museum and funding to facilitate its construction
• The relocation of two MTA facilities away from residential communities and into industrial zones.
• $300,000 annually for the long-term maintenance of Bushwick Inlet Park
• Over 1 acre of new waterfront open space, completing the connection between the Greenpoint waterfront and Bushwick Inlet Park

Additional details and quotes on the Monitor Point rezoning and other Council land use actions today can be found here.

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