The results will be summarized in a Community Visioning Report that will be attached to the RFP issued for the site. Developers will be encouraged to consult this Community Visioning Report when developing their proposals. Developers will have to describe how their proposal achieves community development objectives and considers community goals, as described in the Community Visioning Report. Among many criteria of the competitive process, preference will be given to developers who are responsive to the visions articulated by the community.

The purpose of the community engagement series and the summary community visioning report is to create space for community members to give their feedback and recommendations on how the project will best service their needs. This report will be provided as an attachment to the RFP so that prospective developers understand what the community wants and can craft proposals that are responsive to community goals and priorities. We will publish the report at nyc.gov/mwberfp2.

We are including opportunities for people to provide input in a variety of ways. For people who aren’t able to make it to the meetings, there is an online questionnaire available at nyc.gov/mwberfp2. Community members can also offer feedback and submit questions about this project by emailing MWBERFP@hpd.nyc.gov and texting or leaving a voice message at 917-613-8472. We will also make paper copies of the engagement activities available at several neighborhood locations, stay tuned for a full list of participating pick-up and drop off locations. The deadline to share feedback is November 27, 2020.

Additionally, HPD will present workshop findings at a Brooklyn Community Board 8 meeting this fall and gather feedback on what we may have missed.

After developer selection, there is still room for feedback from the community. HPD will require the selected development team to present their project to the Community Board. Additionally, the required approvals for disposition will be referred out to the Community Board, Borough President’s Office, City Planning Commission, and Council Member for further commenting before the approval is voted on by City Council.

We get lots of input on from many different types of stakeholders, our goal is to focus on the big picture and to accommodate as many perspectives as possible, but we are conducting extensive outreach in the community to ensure that those who may be most impacted by the new development are informed and have opportunities to provide feedback.

These workshops are the start of the community engagement process. Once selected, the developer will report back to the Community Board, and there will be many opportunities for review and feedback during the formal public review process.

HPD has conducted outreach in the neighborhood through various community partners. These partners include the Community Board, local elected officials and other community groups. While we strive to get a broad and representative population to participate in community engagement, some people might not be able to make it to our scheduled online events. As such, we are also distributing paper copies of the engagement materials and providing a phone number for community feedback to ensure broader participation from a larger population. We ask you to please reach your neighbors who aren’t able to make it to the scheduled online workshops and encourage them to provide input through nyc.gov/mwberfp2, paper copies of engagement activities, phone number and email.

After construction, newly available apartments go through a lottery process. Note that the buildings on the two sites will not finish construction for several years (see timeline question for more info). In the meantime, you can visit NYC Housing Connect online for more information about current affordable housing lotteries that are open to the public. For information and help on how to apply, contact a nearby housing ambassador such as Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) located at 621 Degraw St., Brooklyn, 11217 (call (718) 237-2017) or IMPACCT Brooklyn located at 1224 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11216 (call (718) 522-2613). Additional Housing Ambassadors can be found at nyc.gov/housing-ambassadors.

A Request for Proposals is a document issued by HPD that seeks proposals for new housing and community amenities on City-owned land. Development teams propose projects in response to the criteria and requirements outlined in the document. Such proposals are evaluated based on their ability to meet such requirements and advance the goals as reflected in the competitive criteria of the document as well as the Community Visioning Report that will be attached to the RFP document.

The development of public sites is a multi-year process (5-8 years), and we are only at the very early stages, starting at community engagement.

HPD will compile the feedback and share the summary findings with the community at a Report Back meeting. We will also draft a Community Visioning Report that summarizes the findings and include a final version of that report as an attachment to the RFP.

After allowing time for the developers to respond as well as for the City to review the proposals, we will announce the selected development teams. The projects will have to go through environmental review and a public approvals process as well as finalize its financing. This process can last two to three years after we issue the RFP, before beginning construction.

HPD is continuing the M/WBE Building Opportunity Initiative in an effort to build opportunity among minority- and women-owned businesses and address disparities in M/WBE participation in affordable housing development. The M/WBE RFP will require the development team’s lead applicant to be a certified M/WBE entity. Joint ventures are also welcomed as long as the M/WBE developer has majority ownership. Please visit the M/WBE Building Opportunity Initiative webpage to learn about the various resources available to M/WBE’s. Additionally, HPD will host a one-day M/WBE RFP Training to cover An Introduction to Affordable Housing, How to Submit an RFP and Assembling Team/Joint Ventures, sign up for updates to receive more information.

In order to encourage greater variety in building designs and provide greater development opportunities for more than one MWBE team, this RFP will require development teams to submit separate and individual responses for each site. Development teams may submit proposals for both sites if they wish, but there is no bonus for doing so. Each site will be awarded to a development team based on how well they respond to the requirements and community vision of an individual site.

We highly value community input informing the development of the RFP, before it is written and issued, which is why we designed activities that gather your input. See the section on Community Input for more information.

The visions gathered throughout this community engagement will be published in a Community Visioning Report made available on our website and attached to the RFP for development teams to consider in crafting proposals. Proposals will be scored on how well they respond to the visions of the community in addition to a range of technical criteria, including financial feasibility, architecture/design, development team experience, the quality of the programing, and economic impact.

HPD takes the integrity of its RFP competitive review process seriously. HPD is required to ensure that the RFP process prevents potential conflicts of interests (and disqualifications of teams because of potential conflict of interest), and cannot allow community members, who may have affiliations to potential applicants to the RFP, to take part in the review.

Yes. The RFP will be available to the general public to download at nyc.gov/mwberfp2 after it is released.

516 Bergen Street is a vacant HPD field office with parking and 542 Dean Street is an HPD parking lot.

These sites are currently underutilized and there is a Seniors First commitment to build at least 80 senior homes on these sites. This Seniors First commitment is part of a strategy to address the housing needs of New York City’s rising senior population. If you’d like to learn more about the other strategies to address senior housing needs, visit our Seniors First webpage.

Under current zoning (R6B) for a Quality Housing building, about 58 affordable homes can be built on each site. HPD is proposing a rezoning to access additional floor area and the zoning bonus through AIRS (Affordable Independent Residences for Seniors). This zoning bonus will allow for more homes to be built on each site which was a need expressed by elected officials, the Community Board and several community-based organizations who have conducted extensive outreach in the community.

Additionally, changing the zoning allows for the commitment of at least 80 senior homes to be met on one site, the opportunity for another affordable program on the second site and the inclusion of ample community facility spaces for community services at both buildings.

At previous presentations and online, we has noted that the current zoning for these sites is not feasible to create new affordable housing because the R6B does not allow for enough FAR and height to: 1) build a senior housing building that HPD can finance or 2) build a family building that would allow for inclusion of a broad range of targeted income groups, including extremely low and very low income units, given limitations of tax credits projects. We have also noted that an R7A zoning district was considered, which allows affordable housing up to 9 stories and which matches many buildings in the area.

Through community engagement we have heard that the community wants to have a conversation about the appropriate zoning here. Given that, we have gone back and reevaluated, and feel there may be more than a single zoning option to achieve our shared goals for that site. Based on that, the urban design workshop on November 18 will focus on what designs would work well for this site. HPD will move forward to identify a developer without a specific zoning district target, and will continue to work with the community after a project and development team have been identified to determine the appropriate zoning for these sites. We will continue to explore zoning options that allow for the creation of much-needed affordable housing at this site.

No retail uses are permitted under the current R6B district or the proposed R7A district We want to hear from the community if retail uses are needed at these sites. If the community does want retail uses, we can work with DCP to analyze extending the commercial district from Flatbush Avenue to the sites.

Community facility uses are permitted but are not required under the current R6B district or the proposed R7A district. We also want to hear from the community about what types of community spaces they would like to see, if any.

If you would like to participate in a discussion about the community services preferences at these sites, please join us on November 18, 2020 for the Urban Design workshop. If you cannot make it, please complete the survey found at nyc.gov/mwberfp2. These preferences for types of community facilities will be reflected in the Community Visioning Report that will be attached to the RFP.

HPD is proposing the Seniors First commitment be fully met at the 542 Dean Street site. We want to hear from the community who needs housing at the 516 Bergen Street site. Please complete the survey found at nyc.gov/mwberfp2 to let us know your preferences. These preferences for affordability will be reflected in the Community Visioning Report that will be attached to the RFP.

The RFP for the sites will require proposals where 100% of the units are affordable according to the incomes outlined in our financing programs for different types of housing (Senior, Supportive, Rental, Homeownership, etc.). While 542 Dean Street is proposed as Senior housing, we want to hear from the community what programs and affordability levels can be most beneficial on 516 Bergen Street site.

No, the RFP will require proposals for housing that is 100% affordable (income-restricted, where tenants pay no more than 1/3 of their income on rent and are protected from sharp rent increases) using our HPD finance programs.

As with all of our recent RFPs, we will encourage respondents to include proposals for long-term or permanent affordability. Also, in the past few years, HPD has been issuing RFPs with language that requires what is called a remainder interest. Remainder interest is a legal tool that enables the City to retain ownership of the land at the end of an initial regulatory period, unless the developer refinances and extends affordability.

Under current policy, a developer must, during initial rent-up of an HPD development, give preference for 20% of the income-restricted units to applicants who, at the time of application, are residents of Brooklyn Community District 8 in which the site is located. If the development is advertised for initial rent-up after April 30, 2029, the developer must give preference for 15% of the income-restricted units to applicants who are residents of the Community District in which the site is located.

Depending on the housing programs selected and the resulting financing sources, different rules may apply to parts of the development which could result in a community preference, a borough-wide preference, or no geographically-based preference at all.

All projects financed by HPD must include a plan for outreach to community residents related to employment opportunities generated by the project. HPD is also connecting Brooklyn residents to good jobs in the building trades. The HireNYC program requires that housing development receiving $2 million or more in HPD subsidy post their open positions with the Workforce1 system and consider qualified candidates. Brooklyn residents can find Workforce 1 Centers at the NYS Department of Labor MetroTech Workforce1 Career Center (250 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201) and NYC Business Solutions Brooklyn Center (9 Bond Street 5th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201).

Because the sites will be rezoned and the projects involve transfer of City-owned land, they will have to go through an extensive public review process. As a part of public review, an environmental review will be required to assess potential impacts to the surrounding area. Should any adverse potential impacts be identified, steps will be taken to mitigate them.