Adams proposed a study of affordable housing opportunities along 3 line corridor and emphasized the need for the MTA to create no-cost transfers at selected subway stops in Brownsville
On Monday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams proposed that the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) conduct a study of affordable housing opportunities along 3 line corridor in Brownsville. The area of the proposed planning study would encompass the section between East 98th Street from East New York Avenue to Livonia Avenue, as well as the section of Livonia Avenue from East 98th Street.
"In addition to the vacant sites identified by the Brownsville Plan, I believe that the neighborhood's 3 line corridor may be a possible site for beneficial transit-oriented, affordable housing, and I encourage the DCP to study the impact of such potential development," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
Adams issued his recommendation as part of a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure response that requests the approval of applications, submitted by the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), for zoning amendments that will pave the way for the construction of an eight-story mixed-use building on Livonia Avenue between Grafton Street and Howard Avenue, including 125 affordable units.
The new development, named"Edwin's Place," would also contain 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and community facility space at affordable prices for arts organizations and locally-based community groups, as well as additional community facility space for services from the African American Planning Commission (AAPC), a non-profit organization which also serves as the local developer.
Adams also emphasized the need for the MTA to create a permanent no-cost connection between the Junius Street station on the 3 line and the Livonia Avenue station on the L line by immediately instituting a free out-of-station transfer, comparable to what is currently in effect on various subway lines on the Upper East Side between the Lexington Avenue and 59th Street station.
"With additional development coming into this community, and considering the existing challenges facing economically-challenged riders, duplicating the free out-of-station transfer that Upper East Side straphangers use every day is the right and just move," said Adams.
In November 2015, the MTA promised to fund a station connector between the stops at Junius Street and Livonia Avenue, but there has been no commitment to eliminate the double fare before the construction begins in 2018.
Borough President Adams' proposal will be discussed by the City Planning Commission as part of their public meeting on Tuesday.
