State Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Midwood, Flatbush, Borough Park, Kensington, Sunset Park, Bensonhurst) might have done more to curb the growing illegal conversions in Southern Brooklyn than the recent rash of measures clamping down on property owners converting their one-and two-family homes into multiple living units.
That after Felder announced today that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is scheduled to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop the airspace for housing above a section of the LIRR Bay Ridge Branch freight rail corridor along 61st Street between 8th Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway.
The 3.8-acre currently unused rail bed site is in the heart of Brooklyn’s Chinatown and extends into Borough Park – two neighborhoods that have experienced rapid population increases over the past few decades.
The developments will also provide the cash-strapped MTA with a much-needed long-term revenue stream.
“This monumental project is a long time in the making and I am very pleased to see that it is finally commencing,” said Felder, who caucuses with the Senate Republicans and has been working on seeing the site developed since he was in the City Council (2001-2013). “Affordable housing is desperately needed in the neighborhood and I applaud the MTA for issuing this proposal to build new housing opportunities.”
The development site is also conveniently located adjacent to the 8th Avenue Subway Station and Fort Hamilton Parkway Station.
“The vision is to create residential development that is consistent with the character of the neighborhood,” said Felder. “The location of this project presents a significant opportunity to create additional housing units on a gigantic parcel of land that covers a few city blocks.”
Felder said the idea of housing on top of this particular portion of the 11.5-mile LIRR rail bed running from Glendale Queens to the train yard at 65th street in Bay Ridge, has drawn resistance in the past from the Bay Ridge/Bensonhurst side of the site, but now has more broad-based support.
According the Hamodia, which first reported the news yesterday, potential developers will have to leave the tracks in place and operational, so any construction will have to include a platform over the tracks and on which the apartment buildings will sit.
The publication noted that also lobbying for development of the site were local lawmakers including Assembly Members Dov Hikind and Felix Ortiz as well as City Council Member Carlos Menchaca and Council Member -elect Kalman Yeger.
“Affordable housing is needed in Bay Ridge. I welcome the opportunity to build new housing above the LIRR Bay Ridge branch to make use of this valuable corridor and to improve the community. We must explore creative ways to help families with new housing that also benefits existing neighborhoods,” said Ortiz.
Felder said after years of persistent hard work on this project, with many ups and downs, the moral of the story is never give up.
“The neighborhood is busting at the seams and people are desperate for additional housing to remain close to their families and jobs. This project may not solve the city’s affordable housing problem, but it will certainly help ease the housing crisis faced by many local families,” said Felder.
The RFP is scheduled for release tomorrow morning via the MTA’s website: http://enterprise.nymta.info/MTA_Real_Estate_RFP/ with a deadline for submissions of April 27, 2018.
