The legislature and governor united on Thursday to vote in favor of the plan to build a mostly residential tower on the 5 World Trade Center site, with an additional infusion of affordable units.
The Public Authorities Control Board, the state financing authority made up of appointees of the governor, Senate and Assembly, approved $65 million in public funds for the project that will set aside a third of the 1,200 planned units as affordable — about 40 more than had previously been agreed upon in May.
State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Congress Member Dan Goldman and Assembly Member Charles Fall, whose districts overlap with the site, jointly lauded the 40-unit concession as a win.
“We particularly applaud Governor Kathy Hochul’s committed and continuous dialogue as our offices led discussions with all parties to come to an agreement that significantly increased the original proposed level of affordability,” the legislators wrote.
The new plan was even enough of an improvement to appease the plan’s critics, who had been pushing for 100 percent affordability. Though the addition doesn’t reach their stated goal, the Coalition for a 100% Affordable 5WTC sent out a statement thanking the government representatives for the compromise.
“This agreement reflects the community’s advocacy to increase the diversity in the areas surrounding the site and recognizes a preference for the 9/11 survivors and first responders, who paid a high price to rebuild Lower Manhattan,” the coalition wrote, adding that it leaves opportunities obtain additional funding but did not specify what those entail.
Richard Corman, a member of the coalition’s steering committee, clarified that the inclusion of a substantial amount of housing for the lowest-income tenants — at 40% the area median income — was crucial for them.
“We wanted to be sure that those very low income levels were included,” Corman said. “It was time to move forward. We are desperate for affordable housing in our community and all of New York.”
The agreement represents the second time the state has increased the number of affordable units during the approvals process. In the spring the Port Authority and Empire State Development approved measures to set aside 30% of the apartments, or 360, as affordable rentals – up from the originally planned 25% figure. But that change in the plan ended up eliminating the lowest-income tier of affordable units.
The new plan restores the lowest-income units and made the total level of affordability slightly deeper on average.
Across the affordable units, the average area median income will serve households below 80% area median income, said a representative from Empire State Development in the Thursday PACB meeting. The previous version of the plan would peg the AMI for the affordable units at 85% on average, THE CITY reported.
In the newest version of the plan, the units will serve households earning between 40%, and 120% AMI, or between $48,040 to $152,520 for a family of three.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request asking for the number of units set aside at each band of AMI.
“Addressing New York State’s housing crisis has been a top priority of Governor Hochul’s administration, and today’s vote by PACB demonstrates a firm, collective commitment to create affordable housing and further support the long-term future of Lower Manhattan,” said Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight in a statement.
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