Providence House Gets Land Use Approval From Mayor's Office

Congratulations are in order for Providence House, which received approval from the Mayor's Office for the construction of transitional housing at 329 Lincoln Road. The approval follows a modification of the original proposal to accomodate the objections raised by Borough President Marty Markowitz's office and others in the commuity.

Sister Janet Kinney told me that the plan has added two 2BR units, lowering the total number of apartments in the building from 26 to 22. The final layout will include 18 studios for program participants, including the super's apartment, and four units for the community, including both 2BR units. Ground breaking remains several months away as there is still plenty of administrative work to be done.

Sister janet also said that she "will keep the community posted, and certainly want[s] to mend bridges with those who are not in favor" of the project.

Thanks, Dynishal.

Comments

[Carmen]

This is fantastic news :)

[babs]

Custom in City Council is not to vote against the Councilmember from the district in which a project is located. With Mathieu Eugene clearly and obviously manipulated by Providence House and HPD from the beginning of the process, it's amazing we were able to get as much accomplished as we did.

However, Councilmember Charles Barron voted against this in both the Land Use Committee and general City Council meeting, and stated clearly exactly why he did so. Unlike Mathieu Eugene, Mr. Barron understands how our community is being used as a dumping ground for the warehousing of those considered "less-desirable" by our society. With at least 16 supportive/transitional housing projects already in CD 9, we have far more than our "Fair Share" of this type of facility, as has been recognized by State Senator Adams and BP Markowitz.

Additionally, Councilmember Michael Nelson voiced grave concerns about how the community had been misled and excluded from negotiations throughout this process, while Councilmember Tish James later called me personally to apologize for her aye vote, stating that had she known the full details of this travesty (like most City Council members, she knew nothing about the proposal until the morning of the meeting) she most likely would have voted differently.

Throughout this process, Providence House repeatedly refused to meet with any opposition members to discuss possible compromise solutions, while using the Catholic church to drum up support (primarily from non-resident parishioners of St. Francis church on Nostrand Ave.) - they will have a hard way to go to "mend" any bridges with residents surrounding this proposed facility (Hint: You can't mend something that never existed).

Nonetheless, 17 is better than 20 - considering Providence House's much-vaunted and never-documented 3% recidivism rate, perhaps the one woman of the 20 (rounding up from .6) likely to return to a life of crime was in one of the 3 units they gave up.

Additionally, 2 bedroom affordable units and 2 studios beats 5 studios in terms of the affordable housing needs of this community.

Overall, I'm pleased and proud that an impromptu group of concerned neighbors was able to accomplish so much against much better financed and (obviously) more politically well-connected institutions, and to get some more appropriate affordable housing for area families. I'm especially proud of how my neighbors all worked together, taking time out from careers, school, and caring for their families, to work to protect what they've all struggled so hard to build.

[babs]

Again, this is not transitional housing. Transitional housing is temporary - residents are to go on from there, presumably to "normal" residences. This is permanent, supportive housing, for people judged permanently incapable of living on their own in normal surroundings.

So I'd word your opening a bit differently, something like, "Congratulations are in order to the grass-roots community effort that managed to overcome a well-financed and orchestrated campaign by Providence House and HPD to force them to modify their plans for an all-studio SRO type building to include family-size affordable units and fewer supportive units, for a more balanced addition to our neighborhood."

[Murray Dwertman]

Readers, would you want this on your block?

A building that is receiving an FAR (Floor Area (lot) ratio) exemption to build a building with over 50% more floor area (square footage) than that which is allowable by law according to the zoning of the 300 block of lincoln road.

This exemption means it will be 6 stories tall as opposed to the four story buildings that it will sit amongst. These other four story building are stand-alone buildings with windows all the way down the sides. They stand 8 ft apart. This new building will encroach upon its neighbors reaching all the way to the property line and resulting in only a 4 foot separation. Light and air circulation will be reduced for these residents.

This building will contain 17 formerly incarcerated women with long histories of substance abuse. All will have mental health problems.

In order to receive $1000 per month rent for each woman housed here from NYC's Department of Mental Health, the 17 candidates will each need to be classified as having mental health issues.

These women will be required to live alone (no children) in 300 square foot efficiencies.

One security agent will be on the property at all times.

You live across the block, what do you think?

[Carmen]

I welcome them with open arms. They should have actually put Providence House on my block since my neighbors are certainly more understanding about doing good unto others rather than judge and condemn.

[Josh]

Not so much worried about the women as I am about the tomcats that are going to be prowling around this building. Some will not have good intentions which might not bode so well for the women let alone having more guys hanging out, and hanging out, and hanging out.

[Jan Clausen]

Carmen, you are not alone in having neighbors who are welcoming of this facility and the formerly incarcerated women who will live there. I spoke with many neighbors who live within 3-4 blocks of the Lincoln Road site and quickly found about a dozen who were happy to make calls to Council Member Eugene's office to express their support and urge his "yes" vote. We share a belief that this is a well-designed project that will give highly motivated women with harsh experiences in their pasts and who currently have a psychological disability (which, by the way, is not a reason to treat them as outcasts--see the Americans with Disabilities Act) the resources they need to build constructive lives. To those who continue to speak so dismissively of women in this situation, as if "they" were a completely different breed from "us," I want to say: many of us in this community, myself included, have friends or relatives who are now or formerly were incarcerated, and/or who have mental illnesses. Consider that some of us do not think of the women served by Providence House as "the undeserving poor" or recidivism waiting to happen, but as people who could be our friends and relatives or ourselves under slightly different conditions. Then, if you really want to shake up your thinking about this issue of what being an "ex-offender" means, I suggest you read Michelle Alexander's brilliant and disturbing new book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Just to give you an idea of its contents, here is NYU historian David Levering Lewis's jacket quote: "After reading The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander's stunning work of scholarship, one gains the terrible realization that, for people of color, the American criminal justice system resembles the Soviet Union's gulag--the latter punished ideas, the former punishes a condition." Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project, comments: "We need to pay attention to Michelle Alexander's contention that mass imprisonment in the United States constitutes a racial caste system." Certainly its racially skewed nature is not the only reason we need to question the U.S. penal system, but these quotes point to one big reason why we as a society and PLG as a neighborhood badly need to start breaking down the "us" and "them" divisions reinforced by some of the rhetoric coming from those who have opposed Providence House.

[Deborah Mutnick]

In a period of increasing competition for resources and a precarious economy, it seems to me we need to think very carefully about how we see ourselves in relation to others. In Prospect Lefferts Gardens, most of us pride ourselves on our sense of community. But the notion of community cuts both ways: while it can serve to embrace and include, it can also serve to tighten the circle and exclude.

Providence House and other group homes that serve people with disabilities or other problems do not pose a threat to the stability or safety of the neighborhoods in which they reside. One of the group homes in PLG that was strongly resisted in the mid-1990s is now located on my block. The residents are as much a part of the life of the block as anyone else, and so far as I know there have been no issues involving any of them over the past 10+ years.

My brother, who was schizophrenic, lived in Section 8 housing for many years in Berkeley, California. I was very grateful that he had a decent, affordable place to live. I would not want to deny someone else’s brother or sister struggling with mental illness or a prison record a similar chance.

I have found PLG to be an unusually connected community notable for its diversity and congeniality. As we all contend with an unstable economy and social flux, I hope we will continue to be a neighborhood that is welcoming and inclusive rather than one that labels some of us--or our brothers or sisters--“undesirable."

[babs]

Again, the question here is one of size and scale in this building's appropriateness for this area. That's all. Not whether certain types of people are more or less desirable (and, like it or not, society at large does label many of us "undesirable").

Community Districts 9 (Crown Heights/PLG) has at least 16 transitional/supportive housing projects, including many right here in PLG. This is far more than wealthier areas; this trend has been noticed and remarked upon by many, most recently Councilmember Charles Barron, who courageously voted against Mathieu Eugene on this project.

At the same time, there is a dearth of affordable housing in this area. No-one ever said to Providence House not to build the project at all, merely to modify its scope to fit in more with the surrounding area and give a chance at a decent, affordable place to live to families beng priced out of this area.

Senator Eric Adams is also aware of this problem, and wrote personally to the Borough President recommending he vote against it whenit came to him in the ULURP time line, which he did, recommending that ti be approved on for a four story height and with a 60/40 supportive/affordable split.

Mathieu Eugene himself actually went one step further: writing to HPD Commissioner Cestero to request a 50/50 split.

I am sure that many ihabitants of Lefferts Manor deeded one-family million-dollar townhouses can be found to call to support putting this facility on a block other than the one they live on, because their block is "safe" from this sort of thing. However, on the block itself and on those directly adjacent to it the results are not at all the same. I can count on one hand (literally) the number of Providence House supporters on the blocks of Lefferts Ave and Maple St between Nostrand and Rogers (and I know this because we canvassed the area and spoke to most residents of these blocks). Those of us who live on or directly adjacent to this block know its history and its struggles well, and are best-positioned to opine as to the suitability of this facility there.

The group home referenced above is in one of these one-family houses and is for mentally retarded adults. There are maybe 5 - 6 clients living there with full-time care. Quite different from 17 mentally-ill former prisoners with drug problems living in 300 sq. ft. studios with no full-time social services presence.

The fact that this issue was blown into some sort of a race/class incident is entirely the fault of Providence House's and its supporters' ad hominem attacks. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Those of us who worked to minimize the impact of this facility on the neighborhood are probably the most diverse group of people (in all respects, from the obvious such as race and age, to the less so, such as financial wherewithal, religion, and even politcal affiliation) I've ever encountered in my life.

The venom and hatred spewed by Providence House supporters trying to paint us as recists and classists will not be soon forgotten, nor the duplicity of the Catholic Church, whose parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi were asked to sign a pro-Providence House petition after being told only that it was to "support the Church," nor, and most especially, will Mathieu Eugene's hypocrisy. 2013 can't come soon enough on that one.

[Cynthia Foo]

It's clear that this issue continues to rankle "babs", who has made the following allegations here and in previous postings:
- There is some kind of conspiracy between HPD and Providence House that "bamboozled" city councillors;
- That the opponents of the project were inaccurately smeared as racist and classist in (apparent "ad hominem" attacks);
- That the opponents she gathered were "an impromptu group of concerned neighbors"; and
- That her "impromptu group" were faced with "much better financed and (obviously) more politically well-connected institutions"

I don't really know where to begin to address these disturbing and baseless insinuations. I was one of the people who reached out to supporters of the Providence House project, and I can tell you, they were certainly not "bamboozled" by the church; many of them decided to reach out to their own friends and family when I told them that the project was in danger. Many expressed anger and frustration at what they felt was Councilman Mathieu Eugene's reluctance to take a firm stand in support of the project. One particularly poignant conversation I had was with a woman who lives in our neighborhood, who said, "If someone has Christ in their heart, how can they possibly vote against this project?"

Even I was touched by that statement--and I'm not a Christian. It was a useful reminder of what constitutes something worth fighting for.

The opposition was CLEARLY well-organized. "babs" herself remarks this in her comment, "I know this because we canvassed the area and spoke to most residents of these blocks"--hardly sounds like an "impromptu" group just going about their business, to me.

As for the "venom and hatred" supposedly "spewed" by the supporters of PH, I have to laugh--this is such a ludicrous statement. Take a look at the fact sheet that we put out--you tell me where the "venom and hatred" are: http://linroforma.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/affordable-supportive-housing-in-plg/

The "facts" of the councilmen voting with "babs" or of people reaching out to her afterward are testament to the fact that she obviously had an impact--and yet she is still furious at having lost. Shame, I was hoping for a more adult conversation than more mudslinging from "babs".

[babs]

I've seen the supposed "fact" sheet, which contains no facts about the project itself, and which was handed out in St. Francis of Assisi church. Here are excerpts from our response, whioh I personally distributed one Sunday outside the church. And I can tell you of the many "heartbreaking" conversations I had with parishioners there who were hurt by their Church's obfuscation of the facts about what was being planned to be built in their midst. Since I don't have my own blog (and I do know several members of the LinRoForma block association who expressed dismay at the editor of the supposed block-association blog using it as a soapbox for her own causes), I'll just summarize the key points here:

• What’s wrong with this plan?
Unlike at every other Providence House facility, there will be no full-time live-in social services presence at this facility, only a live-in super and a 24-hr security guard. Providence House has no experience in unsupervised supportive housing of this nature, which is why they have partnered with Community Access, which has until now only worked on larger developments. While this plan might work elsewhere, it is not appropriate for this block.

•What is the block of Lincoln Rd. between Nostrand and Rogers like?
This is a challenged block, with an ongoing crime and drug presence. Within the past week there has been one shooting, one report of vagrants breaking into a house, and one report of prostitution being conducted out of an apartment building. At the same time there are many families trying to raise their children in a mix of three and four story houses, apartment buildings, and condominiums. The population density, combined with the criminal element already present on the block, would not create a healthy environment for either party in this equation.

• Do you have another solution?
Yes! Our elected officials (State Senator Eric Adams, Borough President Marty Markowitz, and Councilmember Mathieu Eugene) have proposed an improved mix of at least 60% supportive housing and 40% affordable housing, with no zoning exception. A zoning exception could be obtained if the plans were to include more family-sized apartments as opposed to only SRO studios.

• How would this help?
Our neighborhood has a great need for affordable housing, and there are no affordable housing units under construction or planned in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. The reduced concentration of supportive housing clients would result in a better, less-stressful mix for all.

• Is the concentration of supportive housing here a problem?
Community Districts 8 and 9 already have more than their fair share of affordable and transitional housing beds relative to the overall area population density. A recent proposal to revise the City Charter to include all of these facilities in Fair Share accounting was not presented for a vote in the most recent elections (unlike a similar rectification of the counting of waste treatment and transportation plants, which passed overwhelmingly).

And the mudslinging came entirely from Providence House supporters, who accused us in public hearings on the subject and in written comments on this very blog of being racists, homophobes, elitists, and "silver spoons."

And, sorry "Cynthia," we didn't lose - Providence House did modify its plan to include two 2 bedroom units and gave up 3 of their studios in the process. As I commented above, hopefully the one person out of 20 likely, according to Providence House's own claims, to return to a life of crime went with them. And Providence House is now on notice that it can't just waltz into an area and do whatever they like with it.

You were hoping for an adult discussion, "Cynthia"? So were we. And yet Providence House representatives repeatedly refused to meet with us, or to include us in their discussions with Mathieu Eugene, and then lied in a letter (posted prominently in K-Dog's) that one of our members had toured various other Community Access facilities in other neighborhoods and as a result was now OK with the project.

Completely untrue! What she said to Sister Kinney was that the facilities were all very nice, but that the proposed Providence House was still not appropriate for Lincoln Rd.

Similar to Sister Kinney again testifying in public hearings that Mathieu Eugene had twice written letters of support for the project (which he denied, but then of course backtracked by saying, "I sign a lot of letters. Maybe I don't get to read all of them." Genius!).

And how is impromptu a synonym for disorganized, "Cynthia"? I never said we weren't well organized, only that Providence House and Community Access clearly have avenues to and contact with government officials that we did not, as well as a ready-made public pulpit (literally) for their claims via the Catholic church.

Again, "Cynthia," as I said earlier, I am pleased and proud of what my neighbors and I have accomplished. The furious part I'll reserve for Mathieu Eugene's 2013 re-election campaign, as well as for anyone spreading lies about my neighbors. Shame on you, "Cynthia."

[Dynishal]

I'd like to congratulate Mathieu Eugene and his staff for making the difficult but correct decision to support this project. Many neighbors on both sides of the issue signed petitions, wrote, e-mailed and called his office. Eugene and his staff worked hard to facilitate a compromise. The varying letters he wrote during the process are evidence of this effort, not any dark conspiracy. The fact that both sides can claim a "win" is evidence that in this case, the rough and tumble process of public debate and political decision making worked. Participating in that effort was the most rewarding community project I've engaged in this year and I look forward to welcoming the residents of Providence House to the neighborhood in the future.

Babs, your nasty tone, habit of making unsupported accusations and assumptions and tendency to dominate online discussions on this and other topics harms the causes you support.

[Murray]

Most of the opposition was not against the Providence House.

This plot of land on Lincoln Road was owned by the city. Had it been a private deal, the Developer (Providence House) would have had to build within the zoning regulations.

Since the Plot was owned by the city, the Providence House applied for the zoning exemption thinking that it would be an easy snag since they were already directly sponsored by city agencies.

They then attempted to squeak the proposal past Community Board 9. It was at that point that residents discovered, by means of the CB 9 meeting agenda, that this development was slated for construction. Providence house was expecting an easy road, but was voted down 28-6.

Why a magical exemption to put up a building taller than any building between Rogers and Nostrand by 2 stories. RESIDENTS WERE NOT ANGERED BY THE MISSION OF THE PROVIDENCE HOUSE. They were angered that they were left out of the process and didn't agree with the requested exemptions as well as some of the finer details which were uncovered later.

I personally will welcome and be neighborly and supportive of the future residents of the Providence House.

Did they go about it the wrong way, painting the neighbors of their future project with negative stereotypes, yes.

And no, I will never agree with the zoning exemption to build a 6 story building that encroaches on its neighbors and pushes toward the street. I would have fought against this no matter if it were a business, a condo, a six-store single family, or the Providence House.

Zoning laws exist to keep consistent the architectural and physical make-up of a neighborhood for the good of its residents. That is why there are commercial zones, residential zones, historic zones, etc. Most people would agree that there should not be Magic exemptions to these laws. Again, this has nothing to do with the agreeing or not agreeing with the mission of the Providence House.

Here is Eugene's final letter that he shared:

October 26, 2010

Rafael Cestero
Commissioner
Department of Housing Preservation and Development
100 Gold Street
New York, NY 10038

Dear Commissioner Cestero:

I write to you in reference to the proposed disposition of city-owned land at 329 Lincoln
Road in the Prospect Lefferts Garden section of Brooklyn. As you know, Providence
House was chosen as the not-for-profit organization to develop the site, working in
collaboration with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
on a proposal to construct twenty units of supportive housing for formerly incarcerated
women. The remaining five units in the building are intended to be reserved for low-
income residents living within Community Board 9, while one unit will be set aside for a
building superintendent.

At the public hearing held on October 25th by the Subcommittee on Planning,
Dispositions & Concessions in the New York City Council, several residents who live
near 329 Lincoln Road expressed serious concerns over the proposed development and
its impact on the surrounding community. Some of these concerns include: the issue that
supportive and transitional housing sites are significantly concentrated in Community
Board 9; the impact residents of Providence House will have on a densely populated
street with large number of families; and the suggestion that constructing affordable
housing for low- and moderate-income families better reflects the needs of the local
community.

As the Councilmember representing the area covered by the proposed development,
I believe it is crucial to consider both supporters and opponents of the proposed
development in order to arrive at a fair, balanced and informed decision which best
meets the needs of the community. Since the ULURP process began, I have met with
representatives from HPD and Providence House, as well as residents living near the
proposed project.

After listening to valid concerns presented by both those supporting and opposing the
project, I would like to state firmly this development should not be approved unless a
larger percentage of affordable units are set aside for low- to moderate-income families.
I believe the recommendation made by Borough President Marty Markowitz is valuable
in that the developer should set aside at least 50% of the units as affordable housing
available to the community, especially considering the request to extend the permissible
FAR. In addition, I believe HPD and the developer should make every effort to ensure
that the size of these units are designed as one bedroom units to accommodate space for
families, rather than as studio efficiency units. Without complying with these changes,
I am deeply concerned the development will negatively impact the family-oriented
character of the block and fail to meet the needs of community.

Our community is in dire need of affordable housing for low- to middle-income families,
which represents a true crisis for individuals and families who are struggling in this
tough economy. I urge you and the staff working on the project to comply with the
recommendations set forth by Borough President Marty Markowitz. I look forward to
working together with you on enacting these changes and helping ensure the Providence
House development fully meets the needs of the community.

Thank you in advance for your consideration on this matter.

Respectfully,

Mathieu Eugene
Councilmember
Brooklyn, 40th District

Cc: Councilmember Stephen Levin, Chair of the Land-use Subcommittee on Planning,
Dispositions & Concessions
Carol Clarke, HPD Assistant Commissioner for City Legislative Affairs

[babs]

Read about a different approach to the community here: http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2010/12/12m_reno_for_ro.php

Re-using an exisitng building, a community garden, and immediate notice of hiring preference for individuals from the community, AND an interest in rehabilitating nearby half-completed construction in order to benefit the community.

Wow, night and day compared to Providence House's and Community Access's secretiveness and unwillingness to meet with community representatives.