BY JAIDA DENT
The path to affordable housing is more clear for the Rockaways, as the New York City Council passed a new amendment to an existing project that would strengthen the waterfront community. On Wednesday, Oct. 8, the New York City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, and Dispositions voted to pass land use applications that refer to the Arvene East Project, which will “transform a 116-acre vacant, oceanfront site within the Arverne and Edgemere neighborhoods of Queens.”
The project is located right on the Rockaway Peninsula and was described as “one of the most environmentally conscious developments in the United States,” in a press release by nyc.gov in December of 2021.
“Arverne East is a true community-first and environmentally-friendly project that will bring much-needed housing, stores, community space and other amenities to a long-neglected neighborhood,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr in the press release.
According to the city, the project will see the creation of new affordable housing units, a nature preserve, and an urban farm across the waterfront. The project also sets out to create better storm resiliency for the Rockaways as new developments will be built “three to eight feet above the existing grade” and include storm buffers for the area. The project’s first phase in 2021 focused on the nature preserve, which will take up about 35 acres between Beach 44th Street and Beach 56th Place. The preserve will include a community center that is owned and operated by RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity), a non-profit organization that promotes civic engagement and hosts youth development programs.
While the project was first given approval by the Committee on Land Use on March 25, 2021, these new applications were presented to the subcommittee on Tuesday, Sept. 30. District 37 Councilmember Sandy Nurse served as the acting chair for the portion, with Councilmember Selvena N. Brooks Powers, who oversees District 31, which includes Arvene East. Testimony was given by Kevin Parris, the director of Queens & Staten Island Planning at New York City Housing Preservation and Developments Project (HPD), and Justin Donlon, a project manager at HPD. HPD is involved in the project and submitted the new applications.
The new applications look to expand homeownership on Arvene East. Where the original project designated that 5 percent of the units were to be cooperative homeownership units, the new proposal would increase that to 7 percent “with the remaining units to be rental units,” according to Parris. Cooperative homeownership units (or co-ops for short) are units where tenants own and share responsibility for the buildings.
“Residents looking to purchase a unit within a co-op will own shares of the overall corporation rather than owning the walls-in unit itself. The number of shares a resident owns pertains to the size of the unit itself,” said Brian Shahwan, vice president and mortgage banker at William Raveis Mortgage to Architectural Digest.
A co-op isn’t the same as if someone were to buy property themselves, rather they would be entitled to a share of the building. The idea of co-ops on Arvene East contributes to the ideas of community and collaboration outlined in the project, while giving community members a chance at homeownership. According to Parris, the project is set to be closed by the end of the calendar year.
“Pathways to homeownership are critical in my district and across the city,” said Brooks Powers. “That is why I’m excited to see that there’s movement on homeownership units for the Arvene East development.”