Queens Community Board 5 held its first meeting of the year at Christ the King High School in Middle Village on Jan. 14 that featured a plethora of announcements concerning both politics and community events. Attendance was light due to the frigid winter conditions, so if you missed it in-person or didn’t catch the free livestream, read below for any announcements that might be of interest to you or your family.
Affordable Housing Bills in the City Council
To start the meeting, Board Member Daniel Heredia, chairman of the Zoning and Land Use Review Committee, took some time to alert community members about several bills former Mayor Eric Adams vetoed before leaving office and the subsequent City Council vote to override and pass them into law. The first bill Heredia noted is the Community Opportunity Purchase Act (COPA), which limits the time for a private owner to sell a building with four or more units to another private developer, allowing nonprofits the opportunity to purchase it. The second bill pertains to affordable housing, requiring a certain amount of studio and 1 bedroom apartments be included, but excluded affordable housing for families, leading to Adams’ veto.
