Pratt Center for Community Development

Planning, Building, & Educating for Change.

Queens for Affordable Housing Coalition


Queens for Affordable Housing News: Bloomberg Housing Plan Not Making a Dent in Queens, Press Release March 2008 Adobe Reader icon

Since its inception in 2005, the Pratt Center has supported the Queens for Affordable Housing Coalition, a coalition of community-based organizations that was formed to ensure that new residential development in the borough creates housing that is truly affordable to a diverse mix of Queens residents.

Queens for Affordable Housing believes that the following principles should guide all new residential development in Queens:

  • Significant amount of affordable housing: Developers should include a variety of affordable housing units within new developing projects to meet the needs of diverse Queens residents and particularly for lower-income families. Affordable housing must also be included where rezoning, variances, and tax breaks are taking place. Other opportunities for affordable housing development should also be identified throughout the Borough of Queens in cooperation with government and non-profit groups. On private development sites, at least 30% of the units should be affordable for families earning up to 60% of area median income (approximately $42,000/year for a family of 4). If necessary, additional public subsidies should be available to create units for lower income tiers. On publicly-owned sites, at least 50% of the units should be affordable to local residents.
  • Permanent affordability: The affordable housing units created should be affordable in perpetuity. This will prevent the crisis of expiring affordable units that exists in many programs.
  • Balance neighborhood preservation and inclusion: All new major residential development projects should be subject to planning review, including a public participation process. Thorough planning (including infrastructure, transportation, and accessible and sustainable urban design) is essential to make sure the development works for neighborhoods, especially because so many Queens communities have concerns about the impact of development on their neighborhoods. Anti-harassment and anti-demolition provisions should also be included in rezoning actions to prevent displacement of existing residents. In addition, a community oversight process should be created for each development project to ensure accountability in the implementation of the affordable housing program.

Organizations that are members of the Coalition include:

  • Accion Latina Inc.
  • AIDS Center of Queens County
  • Association for Neighborhood Housing Development (ANHD)
  • Asian Americans for Equality
  • Catholic Charities of Brooklyn & Queens
  • Centro Hispano "Cuzcatlan"
  • Community Environmental Center, Inc.
  • Forest Hills Community House
  • Habitat for Humanity New York City
  • Jamaica YMCA
  • Jewish Association of Services for Aged (JASA)
  • Metropolitan Russian-American Parents Association
  • Neighborhood Housing Services of Northern Queens
  • New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE)
  • Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church
  • Queens Interagency Council on the Aging (QICA)
  • Queens Congregations United for Action (QCUA)
  • Queens League of United Tenants
  • Sunnyside Woodside Peace Veterans for Peace
  • West Queens Greens Woodside on the Move

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