BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
New City Councilman Barry Grodenchik visited Community Board 8 members at the advisory body’s Wednesday meeting in Hillcrest and spoke about two citywide affordable housing proposals that will soon come before the City Council for a vote.
Grodenchik acknowledged the overwhelming dissent expressed throughout the borough toward Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed citywide affordable housing amendments, Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH), which are part of his Housing New York affordable housing plan.
The proposals have received negative criticism from the majority of community boards throughout Queens; CB 8 was among the 10 community boards that recommended denying the amendments. The Queens Borough Board took an official vote in mid-November, which resulted in a 12-2 vote in disapproval of adopting the two amendments.
The City Council will vote early this year and have the final say as to whether the proposals are accepted.
“[Community board votes] will certainly influence how I vote on City Council,” Grodenchik said.
Susie Tanenbaum, a representative of Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, was also in attendance Wednesday. Tanenbaum read a statement from Katz regarding the city Parks Department’s denial of all recent permit applications submitted by for-profit companies to hold large-scale, paid admission summer music festivals in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Before deciding to rent out public parks, Katz stressed the need to agree upon “policies crafted on a selection criteria and a process for community input.”
Tanenbaum also informed the community of the Queens Borough Board’s upcoming hearing for the 2017 Fiscal Year, which will take place on Mon., Jan. 25, at 10:30 a.m.
“This is when community-based organizations come to the BP’s office to testify on the proposed city budget and also to request budget for their organization,” Tanenbaum said. Interested parties should visit queensbp.org to register.
