Governor Kathy Hochul attends the groundbreaking ceremony for a mixed-used housing development in Gowanus, Brooklyn on Feb. 9.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
As New York City faces the worst housing crisis in over 50 years, Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday announced that 18 new housing developments in Gowanus will move forward under the Gowanus Neighborhood Mixed Income Housing Development Program.
The developments will create over 5,300 housing units, of which 1,400 will be affordable.
Hochul made the announcement on Feb. 8 at the groundbreaking of 320 and 340 Nevins St., located in the former industrial zone around the Gowanus Canal. The construction is a mixed-use 505,000-square-foot complex featuring two residential towers with 654 rental units, including 154 affordable units and ground-floor retail. It is one of the first projects to move forward under the program.
Addressing the crowd, which included elected officials like Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, and Comptroller Brad Lander, developers, and 32 BJ SEIU union members, Hochul described the housing shortage as a “crisis on steroids” and the number one reason why New Yorkers were leaving the state in droves.
“[New Yorkers] are only going to other places because there’s not a place to live [in New York City],” Hochul said. “We’re hemorrhaging families, black and brown families in particular who always thought that they’d be able to raise their kids around the grandparents get the free babysitting.”
Gowanus was rezoned in 2021, but real estate development in the neighborhood hit a brick wall when the state legislature allowed the 421-a tax abatement to expire. Since the expiration of 421-a, the total unit filing has dropped 78% in two years.
“The plans were stopped in their tracks when the legislature led 421-a expire and again expire the following year, never renewing it,” Hochul pointed out. “That left nearly 40,000…
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