NYCHA Press Release 1/16/2013

							FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 16, 2013

If you are a member of the press, please contact the following
Communications Officers for additional information for your publication or
news outlet:

NYCHA: Sheila Stainback or
Zodet Negrón
media@nycha.nyc.gov (212) 306-3322

    NYCHA, HPD Announce Developer for Prospect Plaza

    Blue Sea & Partners to Build Affordable Housing and Public Housing Units
    in Brownsville, Brooklyn

    New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chairman John B. Rhea and
    New York City Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
    Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua today announced the selection of a
    development team for Prospect Plaza in Ocean Hill-Brownsville in Brooklyn.
    The agencies have selected Blue Sea Development Company, Pennrose
    Properties, Duvernay + Brooks, and Rosenberg Housing Group (Blue Sea &
    Partners) to develop the approximately 200,000 square feet, 4.5-acre area for
    new, affordable and public housing units. It will be constructed in three
    phases, creating a total of 364 new housing units, including 80 units of
    NYCHA public housing, and 284 affordable housing apartments. The project
    will include a space for a new supermarket, community facility space with a
    rooftop greenhouse, and a new recreation area. The U.S. Department of
    Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded NYCHA a HOPE VI
    Grant to revitalize Prospect Plaza. The Program emphasizes partnerships with
    community residents, other agencies, local governments, nonprofit
    organizations, and private businesses to leverage support and resources.
    NYCHA will provide $15.5 million in HOPE VI Grant funds for the
    development of the public housing units at Prospect Plaza.

    “Today’s announcement is a key step in fulfilling our promise in our strategic
    roadmap, Plan NYCHA, to bring a successful execution to the highly
    anticipated Prospect Plaza development, which includes new units of
    affordable housing and public housing; commercial space for retail stores;
    and programs for the surrounding community,” said NYCHA Chairman John
    B. Rhea. “Through partnership with HPD, we can leverage NYCHA
    resources to provide housing opportunities for more low-income New
    Yorkers. I’m very proud of the community engagement of former Prospect
    Plaza residents and other stakeholders in the development of the new plan.
    We look forward to the successful revitalization of Prospect Plaza as a model
    for future redevelopment.”
“During this Administration we have been very successful in using HPD’s
pipeline of city-owned land to develop affordable housing. The Mayor’s
housing plan has also provided the flexibility to think out-of-the-box to find
innovative ways to expand the City’s affordable housing stock beyond our
pipeline; our partnership with NYCHA being a key example of this,” said
HPD Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua. “The designation of Blue Sea and
Partners is great news for this neighborhood. They bring a history of quality
work and knowhow to this project. The development of new housing on this
site marks a long-awaited fresh start for the community, and we look forward
to finalizing the financing on this development and getting our shovels in the
ground.”

Prospect Plaza is being developed under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s
New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP), a multibillion dollar initiative to
finance 165,000 units of affordable housing for half a million New Yorkers
by the close of the 2014 fiscal year. For every dollar invested by the City, the
Plan has leveraged $3.42 in additional funding for a total commitment of
more than $21 billion. To date, the NHMP has funded the creation or
preservation of more than 142,800 units of affordable housing across the five
boroughs; 4,408 of those units in Brooklyn Community District 16 where
Prospect Plaza is located.

The three development sites are bounded by St. Mark’s Avenue to the north,
Saratoga Avenue to the east, Sterling Place to the south, and Howard Avenue
to the west. The public housing units will be included in the first two
development phases. The third phase will include approximately 22,000
square-feet of ground floor retail space for a supermarket along Saratoga
Avenue and the community facility space. All of the affordable rental units
will be available to low-income New Yorkers earning not more than 60
percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), or what is equivalent to an annual
household income not exceeding $49,800 for a family of four. Former
Prospect Plaza residents will receive a preference for the public housing
units.

“Blue Sea Partners are thrilled to once again be working with what we feel
are the best affordable housing agencies in the country on a development that
will transform this area into the thriving community that it once was,” said
Les Bluestone, Principal of Blue Sea Development Company. “We are
especially grateful to our local elected officials for their support of this
affordable housing development which will incorporate energy efficient and
sustainable design for the people of New York City.”

      Prospect Plaza South (Phase I) will be a combination of four story
       walk up, townhouse-style buildings and a five-and-a-half story
       elevator building. There will be a total of 148 units; 42 NYCHA
       public housing units and 106 low-income affordable housing units.
      Prospect Plaza North (Phase II) will be a combination of four story
       walk-up, townhouse-style buildings and a five-and-a-half story
       elevator building. There will be a total of 111 units; 38 NYCHA
       public housing units and 73 low-income affordable housing units.
      Saratoga Site (Phase III) will be a four-and -a-half story elevator
       building organized around a central courtyard. There will be a total of
       105 low-income affordable housing units. The supermarket will be
       located on the ground floor. This site also will include the new
       community center.

“I applaud HUD and NYCHA for bringing Prospect Plaza to fruition after
two and half years of collaborative planning with public housing residents,
other government agencies, and elected officials,” said Representative Yvette
D. Clarke (D-Brooklyn). “This project will revitalize the surrounding
community by responding to the need for affordable housing, retail, and open
space to provide the residents of Ocean Hill Brownsville with a wide range of
services.”

 “As a former resident of public housing and an advocate for affordable
housing since my earliest days in public life, I am thrilled that the long
overdue redevelopment of the Prospect Plaza site will bring 364 affordable
and public housing units, along with retail and community space, to Ocean
Hill-Brownsville,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. This
is a great example of a public-private partnership that solicits community
input to find creative ways of re-purposing underused and abandoned space
in our most vulnerable neighborhoods. Congratulations to Blue Sea
Development and kudos to all of the federal and city agencies and partners
responsible for helping to assure that Brooklyn’s future is affordable for
generations to come.”

The new Community Center will be located at the Saratoga Site and will be
approximately 12,000 square-feet, with a 2,000 square-foot greenhouse and
green learning center located on the roof. The community center is slated to
be operated by Good Shepherd Services (GSS) which will provide a range of
services aimed at preventing youth from becoming disconnected from family,
school and society. The building will be a stand-alone, two-story structure
along Sterling Place, immediately adjacent to the new recreation area, and
will be open to all residents of the Prospect Plaza development and the
community. The approximately 30,000 square-foot recreation area will be
built on the city-owned parcel adjacent to the Saratoga site and the new
community center. The Trust for Public Land and landscape architect Ken
Smith will lead a participatory planning process with community residents to
refine the design of the open space.

Built originally in 1974 by a private developer, Prospect Plaza consisted of
four high-rise towers with 365 units situated on three sites. In 2003, the
towers were vacated, three for rehabilitation; one tower was demolished in
2005. In 2007, the original HOPE VI Plan was determined to be financially
infeasible and NYCHA went back to the drawing board by re-engaging
former residents and community members to create a new plan for Prospect
Plaza.

The Re-Vision Prospect Plaza Community Plan was developed through a
participatory process, including a 3-day community planning workshop held
by NYCHA in June 2010. The new plan called for demolition of the
remaining vacant towers; construction of low-rise, mixed-use buildings
combining public and affordable housing units; ground floor retail space; a
community center; and a 30,000 square-foot recreation area on adjacent city-
owned land. Demolition of the three Prospect Plaza towers will be completed
prior to the conveyance of the sites to the development team.

The partnership of NYCHA and HPD highlights the Bloomberg
Administration’s commitment to working across agencies to maximize city
resources for the benefit of hardworking New Yorkers. The HPD/NYCHA
collaboration has already produced more than 2,000 units with another 2,000
under construction and in pre-development; including Randolph Houses and
Prospect Plaza, for a total of approximately 4,000 affordable units.

                                    ###

About the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

NYCHA provides decent and affordable housing in a safe and secure
living environment for low and moderate- income residents throughout the
five boroughs. To fulfill this mission, NYCHA must preserve its aging
housing stock through timely maintenance and modernization of its
developments. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased
Housing Program in rental apartments. Simultaneously, NYCHA works to
enhance the quality of life of its residents by offering opportunities to
participate in a multitude of community, educational and recreational
programs, as well as job readiness and training initiatives. For more
information, visit www.nyc.gov/nycha

About the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development
(HPD)

HPD is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development
agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and viable neighborhoods
for New Yorkers through education, outreach, loan and development
programs and enforcement of housing quality standards. It is responsible for
implementing Mayor Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan to
finance the construction or preservation of 165,000 units of affordable
housing by 2014. Since the plan’s inception, more than 142,800 affordable
homes have been created or preserved. For more information, visit
www.nyc.gov/hpd.

About Blue Sea Development Company

Committed to the mission of green and sustainable communities and homes,
the Blue Sea Development Company partners have developed thousands of
units of affordable housing over the past 30 years, building the first
affordable Energy Star (2002), LEED Silver (2007), and LEED Platinum
(2009 and 2010) affordable housing developments in New York State.