All-Affordable Crown Heights Housing Plan Gets BP Adams' Approval

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A proposed 44-unit affordable housing project in Weeksville got a boost from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

It will have apartment for seniors, the formerly homeless and families who make $48,000 a year, land use documents state.

Adams gave plans to build an eight-story tower in Crown Heights' historic Weeksville section his seal of approval on Feb. 6. But he highlighted the plans along with two other "100 percent affordable" projects in Bed-Stuy and DUMBO in an announcement Thursday.

The projects will help keep Brooklyn affordable for its residents in the future, Adams said in a statement.

“Brooklyn’s growing popularity as a place to live, work, and raise a family has put upward pressure on housing prices throughout the borough, forcing out many long-time residents and leaving many more households severely rent-burdened," he said. "These changes have fallen particularly hard on our seniors, who are often living on fixed incomes."

The Weeksville project will use city-owned land at 1559-1563 Prospect Place near Buffalo Avenue, not far from the Kingsborough Homes, according to documents.

The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development proposed to build an 80-foot building on the land that will house 44 all-affordable housing units, the plan states.

Officials plan to set aside 22 apartments as affordable independent residences for seniors who make $19,000 to $32,000 a year. They also will keep a percentage of apartments for the formerly homeless, but the documents don't specify how much.

Another chunk of apartments will be saved for households making between $48,000 and $78,000 a year.

Rents for seniors will be $377 to $683 a month, the documents state. The low-income household rents will be $1,070 to $1,623, according to the plans.

An agreement with the co-developer Settlement Housing Fund will keep the project affordable in "perpetuity," according to a release.

Another recommendation highlighted by Adams will bring seven new buildings with about 78 homeownership affordable co-op units to Bed-Stuy. It will be on various city-owned lots on Herkimer Street, Rochester Avenue, Suydam Place and Ralph Avenue, according to plans.

Adams' recommendations on the projects put them on the city planning commission's and city council's plates for final approval.