October 6, 2016

Maria Torres-Springer
President and CEO
New York City Economic Development Corporation
110 William Street
New York, NY 10038

Dear President Torres-Springer,

We write to request your assurance that the communitys voice is both heard and acted upon to
create the best project possible at the Bedford Union Armory in Crown Heights (1579 Bedford
Avenue, Brooklyn). Public land is a scarce resource in New York City, and we only have one
chance to get this project right. Our neighborhood is one of the hardest hit by gentrification in
New York City, and as we struggle with a record-high number of homeless families
(approximately 60,000 people are in shelters, more than 23,000 of that number are children), it is
crucial that the needs of the local community and the City are met at this public site.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation has conducted extensive meetings
throughout the community with stakeholders, including community leaders and elected officials,
collecting input through surveys for the preferred uses and priorities for development of the last
large scale vacant land in our community.
The project as it stands today seems to incorporate some of the requests of the community, these
include M/WBE participation, Hire NYC and prison reentry preference for employment, postconstruction union and living wages for employees, community space, a community preference
for affordable units and a range of apartment sizes.
However, we are concerned that as one of the very few private public partnership developments
within Central Brooklyn, the Bedford Union Armory does not go far enough in meeting
community needs. The goals and desires of the potential and current members of our community
that will host this new development could never meet the terms of eligibility.
Our main concerns with the project as proposed is that it doesn't adequately reflect the needs of
the average family residing in and around Community Board 9. Our concerns with the proposed
project outweigh the supposed good that the project does in the community. Public land is a
public resource, and we only have one chance to get this project correct. Our main priorities for
the current project are:

President Maria Torres-Springer

October 6, 2016
Page 2

We must use every single public resource to provide affordable housing at all income
levels. The Bedford Union Armory is a rare public site where the City has the opportunity
to build 100% affordable housing, working with the not-for-profit development
community. These income levels should include 50% of AMI and below and up to 130%
of AMI, in order to contribute to solving the housing crisis and meet local needs. In order
to accommodate this 100% affordable building, the EDC should use NYC affordable
housing program subsidies at the proposed development sites.

Increase the Community Board 9 community preference from 50% to 80% of the
affordable housing units though we recognize pending litigation may have significant
bearing on community preferences and the latitude for their imposition.

Decrease the percentage of one bedroom and studio apartments to no more than 40% of
the total rental units developed on site, with the remaining units equally divided between
two and three bedroom apartments

Incorporate the communitys architecture to better blend the housing units to fit into the
larger community aesthetics.

Use a Community Area Median Income instead of a regional AMI for income
qualifications for affordable units; related, ensure that obstacles do not hinder ones
ability to apply for affordable housing (e.g. using credit scores).

Require more education and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
programs for the facility operator in the community and education space so that a larger
number of community residents can take advantage of the community, education and
recreational space.

Placing on the record the advantages of union labor, particularly union apprenticeship
programs and laudable safety records we remain concerned as to whether union labor
will be used in this project.

Our community requires that concrete assurances are made that these neighborhood preferences
will be heard and acted upon moving forward. It is crucial to the integrity of the established goals
behind developing the Bedford Union Armory as a neighborhood hub and community resource,
for these community preferences for the site to be acted upon in good faith and not ignored nor
set aside. We stand resolutely with our constituents who will not support this project until
changes are made that act upon the above-mentioned concerns.
We remain available to work with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure that in the Bedford
Union Armory development affordable housing is truly affordable, neighborhood needs are met,
and the community development occurs along lines that have taken into account neighborhood
residents. We believe that it is incumbent upon us to ensure that community development must

President Maria Torres-Springer

October 6, 2016
Page 3

occur with the concerns of all stakeholders having been heard and acknowledged, more
specifically, having substantively taken into account neighborhood residents, their issues and
concerns and truly reflective of their requests. Please copy us on your reply to this letter and if
you have any questions or concerns about this letter, please do not hesitate to contact us: Senator
Jesse Hamiltons Office, Jarvis Houston, Chief of Staff (718) 284-4700.
Sincerely,

_______________________________
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke

_______________________________
Senator Jesse E. Hamilton

_____________________________
Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley

_______________________________
Assemblywoman Diana Richardson