Dear Editor:
As a proud member of Community Board 7 and a longtime resident of Sunset Park, I am writing to share the outcome of our recent board meeting, where we voted 30 to 6 to reject the residential project proposed on the current site of Arrow Linen & Uniform Supply Co. in Windsor Terrace. The board's decision reflects the serious concerns raised by our community about the project’s lack of true affordability.
While the Arrow Linen project aims to address the housing crisis, it falls short in providing affordable housing for our working-class families. The developer has proposed units targeted at families earning 60% to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which translates to qualifying incomes between $83,880 and $111,840. This is far beyond the reach of the 18,000 people in our district, according to DataUSA, who earn less than $60,000 annually.
The current proposal includes only 24 units out of 61 affordable units at 40% AMI in a project with 244 to 352 total units. This is simply not enough to meet the needs of our community. We need a development that prioritizes deeper affordability and dedicates a larger percentage of units to families earning less than $45,000 annually.
True affordability means providing housing that is genuinely accessible to those who live and work in our neighborhood working-class families, service industry workers, and retail employees who need homes that allow them to stay in the community they’ve built. We cannot settle for token affordable units that fail to address the realities of the housing crisis.
I’m proud that our board was able to consider these community concerns before voting. This issue is especially important to me because, while we often talk about addressing the housing crisis, we rarely think about people like me, college students, who don’t fit the income level of even 40% AMI. We, the people, are real, and deserve housing that matches our income level. It’s not fair that housing policies seem to prioritize the upper-middle class and the wealthy while overlooking the many who can’t afford even 40% AMI or higher. The common argument against deeper affordability is that achieving 100% affordable housing isn’t possible. But I believe that’s untrue. We have a perfect example of 100% affordable housing right here in Sunset Park, on top of our library. It’s possible, and I feel like people are forgetting that.
That’s why, as part of our vote, we called for the developer to pull its application and meet with the community to explore how this development can be reimagined to better fit the needs of local residents. The community demands are clear: we need a rezoning plan that provides more units for families at the 30% AMI level and truly serves the people of Brooklyn CB7.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.
Damien Andrade is a resident of Sunset Park and a member of Brooklyn's Community Board 7, which covers Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace, Greenwood Heights and South Park Slope.
