Homelessness & de Blasio | NYCHA to Ease Offender Restrictions | A Call to Expedite Atlantic Yards

(credit: The Wall Street Journal)

1. Homeless a de Blasio Hurdle Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s pledge to narrow the gap between New York City’s haves and have-nots could meet its first challenge in a burgeoning homeless-shelter population that numbers more than 52,000 for the first time. Since Mayor Bloomberg took office in January 2002, the nightly homeless shelter population has increased 69%, and the number of homeless families has grown by 80%, according to the Coalition for the Homeless, an advocacy group that tracks the shelter population from statistics provided by the city. [The Wall Street Journal – 11/19/13]
2. Bushwick wants more affordable housing at Rheingold Site. Read Property’s plan to turn the old Rheingold Brewery into a 10-building mixed-used complex won approval from City Planning in October, but during a City Council hearing yesterday, it was met with much resistance. Bushwick Daily said several members of the community attended to voice their concerns, most notably that the development did not have enough affordable housing. The median income for families of four in Bushwick is $34,000, well below the city-wide $51,544; currently, Read Property plans for 24 percent, or 242, of the 977 new units to be affordable. Councilwoman Reyna also asked for a new grocery store to be included in the plans. [Curbed NY – 11/19/13]
3. Ban on former inmates in public housing is eased. Public housing nationwide has been off-limits to many people with criminal records and, in New York, residents can be barred for up to six years depending on the nature of their offenses. But two years ago the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development began urging public housing agencies to relax admission policies in an effort to help people released from prison reunite with their families.The New York City Housing Authority, landlord to more than 400,000 residents, will be one of the first public housing agencies in the nation to test lifting the restrictions. The program will, over the two-year pilot period, place 150 former inmates in public housing and provide social services to help them find jobs and meet other requirements. [The New York Times – 11/19/13]
4. Brooklyn pols want Atlantic Yards affordable housing expedited. The Brooklyn officials called on E.S.D.C. to defer approval of F.C.R.‘s sale of its interest in the site until the construction of the project’s 2,250 units of affordable housing are accelerated. Currently, one of the project’s 14 apartment buildings is under construction and behind schedule. It includes 300 units of affordable housing, but the first apartments are not expected to be occupied until 2015. The remaining 13 buildings are not set to be completed until 2035. [Capital New York – 11/19/13]
5. Despite financial concerns, cities are doubling down on bike-share.  Brad Lander, a New York City council member, has been a big supporter of the Citi Bike system. Until now, one of the selling points of the New York system, which logged 5 million trips between its Memorial Day launch and the beginning of November, is that it has required no public dollars, relying entirely on sponsorship money to get up and running. But Lander told me in October that he would be interested in seeing a renegotiation of the funding model with the new mayoral administration if that meant expansion of the system. So far Alta Bike Share, which manages the Bixi-based system in New York, and the city’s department of transportation have both been vague about the timetable of promised expansion of the Citi Bike system (although recent reports point to another 4,000 bikes on the way). [The Atlantic Cities – 11/19/13]
6. Action in Astoria.  The sleepy waterfront of Astoria is set for a major makeover thanks to two forthcoming developments, one of which is Alma Realty’s Astoria Cove. The Long Island City-based developer is one of the city’s lesser-known, and the founder recently offered some insight into its project, which will bring some 1,500 new units to the area: “One of the main benefits of our project would be creating not only visual corridors, but physical access to the water. You will literally be able to walk down and touch it. Whether you choose to swim or not is entirely up to you. [Curbed NY – 11/19/13]
7. The story of Manhattan’s rectangular street grid.  The rigid right-angled grid that defines most of Manhattan was officially adopted in 1811. But its hallmark regularity of design began appearing in new blocks laid out in the 1740s. [The New York Times – 11/19/13]
8. New York City wrestles with how to track Superstorm Sandy funds. New York City’s Bloomberg administration intends to launch a database within two weeks to better track the billions of dollars of federal relief for Superstorm Sandy victims, even as city legislators hope to craft a system of their own. The competing plans come amid widespread concerns that many of the funds appropriated so far have evaded oversight, potentially leading to fraud and abuse. At issue is the depth of information that should be provided about particular contracts and recipients. Spending on relief for victims of the October 2012 storm is expected to accelerate in the next year after a slow start in the first year after the disaster. [Reuters – 11/19/13]
9. Sandy recovery aid for New York City grows by $104 million. The feds are bumping up a $1.34 billion grant to New York City for Hurricane Sandy recovery after a push by local lawmakers. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has agreed to provide $104 million more to repair low-income housing in the city, law makers said. ‘It’s great news for public housing residents,’ said Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan.) [New York Daily News – 11/19/13]
10. Finding the patterns in Alex Washburn’s fractal city. Resilience is never far from this designer’s mind, nor from his consciousness as a New Yorker. The time Washburn takes admiring the Bullitt Center’s green features is one instance of that. His book is the written proof. Housing unit policies made to stave off the spread of tuberculosis, he reminds the reader, was the result of planning with a purpose. Hurricane Sandy damage costs New York City an estimated $19 billion. Resilience, he writes, is that purpose now. [Next City – 11/19/13]