More than 660 affordable homes are coming to the Greenpoint waterfront after a New York City Council committee on Thursday approved the major Monitor Point rezoning. First announced in 2021, the project will bring a new mixed-use complex to an MTA-owned waterfront site, with 50 percent of its 1,324 total units designated as permanently affordable following negotiations between the developer and the City Council. The rezoning also includes public green space as part of Bushwick Inlet Park, along with investments in transit and climate resiliency measures.
The Gotham Organization is the developer of the project. The firm is partnering with RiseBoro Community Partnership on Monitor Point’s affordable and senior housing, building on their collaboration at Long Island City’s Gotham Point development.
Of the 1,324 units, 662 are slated to be affordable. This includes 329 deeply affordable units for New Yorkers earning between 40 and 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), and 172 moderate-income apartments for those between 80 and 125 percent of the AMI. An additional 161 apartments will be deeply affordable senior housing, with 110 of those units designated for formerly homeless New Yorkers.
According to Council Member Restler, most of the units will be for people making between 30 and 60 percent of the AMI. Meaning, a family of three earning $76,300 a year could rent a two-bedroom for $1,822 a month, while a senior earning $35,600 could rent a one-bedroom for $911.
Reslter had opposed the project for five years because he wanted more affordable housing added. The project’s original request for proposals called for just 225 affordable units. After many negotiations with Restler and other officials, Gotham on Thursday added 200 additional affordable homes, increasing the total from 40 percent to 50 percent affordable.
“Our city is in the midst of a historic affordability crisis, and this project will help address the urgent shortage of affordable homes in Greenpoint,” Restler said. “Any development on publicly-owned land must be primarily for the public good.”
“Monitor Point will add desperately needed deeply affordable housing to our community, providing some of our most vulnerable neighbors with stable, dignified homes, while improving critical public infrastructure and expanding public green space.”
The affordable apartments will be found across two buildings, a mixed-income tower with 958 total units and a 100 percent affordable building with 366 apartments.
The west building includes two towers at 56 stories and 600 feet tall, and the east building will be roughly 21 stories and 230 feet tall.
Another key component of the rezoning is 27-acre Bushwick Inlet Park, which Mayor Zohran Mamdani has committed to completing. Gotham will contribute $300,000 annually to maintain and operate the park, with dedicated funds going towards the Brooklyn Parks Alliance.
The project will also include more public green space than originally proposed. The waterfront esplanade will be expanded to 40 feet wide, adding roughly 52,000 square feet of publicly accessible waterfront space linking Greenpoint to Bushwick Inlet Park.
Earlier this month, the city’s Parks Department opened the new “Motiva” parcel, a roughly 1.7-acre waterfront greenspace with restored wetlands, native plantings, and a small beach with a kayak launch. The park is still only about a third complete.
The development also includes a new permanent home for the Monitor Museum on museum-owned land, including the USS Monitor launch site. The institution will continue offering educational programming honoring the ironclad warship that fought in the American Civil War, as 6sqft previously reported.
Resiliency measures include a new waterfront bulkhead to protect against flooding and stormwater retention systems to reduce pressure on local sewers during storms. Both buildings and green space will also be elevated to help mitigate inland flooding.
Other upgrades include a commitment to make the Nassau G train ADA-accessible during the current five-year capital plan, at an estimated cost of $60 million. The plan also includes 2,700 square feet of affordable space for local nonprofits.
The rezoning was approved by the Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and the Committee on Land Use. The project heads to the Council for a final vote.
RELATED:
- 900-unit mixed-use complex planned for MTA-owned site in Greenpoint
- A mini beach opens at Bushwick Inlet Park
- Next Greenpoint Landing phase includes 1,000 apartments across three towers
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