The Community Board 2 Land Use Committee is supporting an initiative by the New York City Department of City Planning to encourage developers to sacrifice the total number of affordable units they build in order to build larger-sized apartments. The committee feels that families should be able to settle into apartments for long periods without being forced to move when they have kids. “Affordable apartments that are just big enough to squeeze a family into are just not practical,” said Mr. Lawrence Whiteside, Chairperson of the Land Use Committee. The required minimum size of an apartment is 80-square-feet.

The committee believes this initiative will boost the stability of families in our neighborhoods. “Kids will have more space to study at home; they will stay in the same schools, and in turn, in the same neighborhood for an extended period of time.”  This, the committee believes, will enhance the quality of life in our community.

In other committee news, James Hill of Urban Pioneering Architecture presented plans to build a two-family townhouse on the vacant lot at 414 Waverly Avenue in Clinton Hill. Mr. Hill said, “The building was designed to relate to the many diverse style brick houses on the block.” The four-story building will be located two lots down from Joe and Justine Delgado award winning row-houses at 424-426 Waverly Avenue.