Affordable housing and community gardens preserved in Columbia District deal
Outcome of years of work in Brooklyn
The sale of a long-vacant lot will generate the funds to preserve 28 units of existing affordable housing in the Columbia Waterfront District, seed the creation of up to 70 new units of affordable housing in Red Hook, and protect two local community gardens.
The deal was called a “win-win-win-win” by Brooklyn Councilmember Brad Lander Thursday morning, as the organizations responsible for crafting the agreement celebrated with a press conference at 163 Columbia St. and photo op in the nearby South Brooklyn Children’s Garden.
“Number one, it’s a lovely, in-scale development that will fit right into the neighborhood,” Lander said. “Two, it provides resources for the Carroll Gardens Association to permanently preserve 28 affordable units.
“Three, it provides the resources to explore new affordable housing in Red Hook,” he continued. “And four, it makes permanent green space,” at the South Brooklyn Children’s Garden and the nearby Pirate’s Garden. Both gardens had been on year-to-year leases. Councilmember Carlos Menchaca will be working with Lander on the Red Hook preliminaries.