960 Franklin
Affordable housing FOR ALL is here -
Introducing
960 FRANKLIN.
The first and only proposed mixed-income residential rental development on private land in Crown Heights that addresses Brooklyn Community Board 9's urgent need for permanently affordable housing for individuals and families across all levels of incomes.
If approved, the rezoning at 960 Franklin will provide housing assistance to 789 individuals and families that are currently rent-burdened and potentially at risk of housing instability.
WHAT SUPPORTERS SAY
Vincent Alvarez,
President of AFL-CIO
Central Labor Council
"Continuum's proposal epitomizes a unique and visionary effort by a private applicant to provide affordable housing and well-paying jobs for working families.
Half of the 1,500+ units built at the Spice Factory site will be targeted to incomes ranging from 50% AMI to 120% AMI -providing desperately needed permanent housing for the hard working lower-and middle-income residents of New York City"
Executive Board,
Leaders of 100
Blacks in Construction
"Our leader A. Philip Randolph said that the essence of trade unionism is social uplift. The 100 Blacks in Construction stands in full solidarity with the Continuum Company and their Union Built - Union Financed and Union Operated template for developing workforce and affordable housing in our community and providing good paying Union jobs to our members and future members.
We hope 960 Franklin Avenue is just the first of several of their Union BFO developments that can serve as a path to the social upliftment our community needs."
Rabbi Eli Cohen,
Crown Heights Jewish
Community Council
"The one issue that is foremost on the mind of every member of the community here: Housing.
As young people who have grown up in this community more and more wish to establish their own homes close to their roots, the lack of availability of affordable housing options is the number one complaint that we hear over and over again.
Hopefully, the nay-sayers will not be allowed to quash one of the few remaining opportunities to build apartments that can be made available at reasonable rents."
A development
worthy of our community's support.
The rezoning at 960 Franklin seeks to transform a vacant and underutilized plot of land that would otherwise become another luxury condominium building into a 34-story, mixed-income residential development with 50% WORKFORCE* + AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
If approved, half of the approx.1,600 units built on the site will be reserved for low to middle-income households -- providing desperately needed permanent housing for the hard-working lower-and middle-income residents of Crown Heights and the greater NYC community.
With the promise 789 units of workforce + affordable housing, our proposed development represents an unprecedented opportunity to expand the availability of income-adjusted housing to individual and families that are currently rent-burdened and potentially at risk of housing instability.
*What is WORKFORCE HOUSING? Housing for essential workers (teachers, grocery clerks, bus drivers, nurses, firefighters), union workers, community entrepreneurs, and any others who are rent burdened but don't qualify for "low-income/affordable" housing.
Every New Yorker deserves a safe and affordable place to live.
Our goal is to bring more workforce + affordable housing to Crown Heights.
The 34-story proposed development at 960 Franklin would provide 789 units of desperately needed, permanently affordable housing for individuals and families of across all levels of incomes. They will consist of studios, one-, two- and three-bedrooms.
Use this chart to determine the % AMI income band you fall into and the number of units that could be available for your income level if the zoning application for this development is approved.
NOTE: Your household income cannot exceed the state income limit in order to qualify for reduced rent.
A Union BFO
project.
UNION BUILT.
UNION FINANCED.
UNION OPERATED.
Unlike other developments in surrounding area, 960 Franklin will be built by a combination of workers from:
-
AFL-CIO Labor Unions;
-
100 Blacks in Construction;
-
Greater NYC Building & Construction Trades.
This will bring 3000+ union jobs with robust, zip code-based outreach to community residents for these jobs.
It will be financed by the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, which will ensure all promises to be union-built and union-operated are kept. And it will be operated by 32BJ.
Executive Summary of Proposal
Our goal from Day 1 has been to help solve the affordable housing crisis in Crown Heights and NYC -- that's why our Draft Environmental Impact Statement proposes to transform a vacant and underutilized plot of land into a 34-story residential development with 50% market-rate apartments and 50% workforce and affordable housing. But, in an effort to be more compliant with contextual zoning, we are now introducing a reduced 17-STORY ALTERNATIVE -- with 75% market-rate apartments and 25% workforce and affordable housing.
The chart below provides an executive summary:
What do we REALLY mean by affordable + workforce housing?
Affordable housing is based on a household's percentage of Average Median Income which is set by the federal government on a yearly basis. Housing is considered affordable if it costs about one-third (30%) or less of household income and is regulated so the rent can't go up dramatically over time.
Use the charts below to understand the levels of affordability in our 34-story proposed and 17-story alternative plan, and the number of units that could be available for your income level the our zoning application for this development is approved.
NOTE: Your household income cannot exceed the stated income limit in order to qualify for reduced rent.
