Council Land Use Committee approves controversial Astoria Cove

Yesterday, after months of rallies, meetings and backdoor dealings, the City Council’s Land Use Committee approved the controversial Astoria Cove development.

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing policy was put to its first major test with the development, which ended up settling on offering 27 percent of its 1,700 units as affordable.

Those affordable units will be targeted to families of four making anywhere from $51,000 to $110,00 a year. Twenty percent of the development will be specifically reserved for low-income households and monthly rents will be as low as $800 per month.

A rendering of the proposed Astoria Cove development.

Besides the 468 units for low- and middle-income tenants, Alma Realty, the developers of Astoria Cove, also agreed to hire unionized construction workers and building staff, construct a co-op supermarket, invest money in improvements to local parks and a senior center at the NYCHA Astoria Houses and commit $5 million to construct a ferry dock in order to get the plan approved.

Councilmember Costa Constantinides said he was “happy” about the “historic agreement” on Astoria Cove.

“For the first time in City history, this developer will be required by law to provide permanently affordable housing that is within the reach of Astorians,” Constantinides said. “The agreement will help transform Astoria for the better. […] I am honored to have had a great partner in the de Blasio administration during this historic negotiation process.”

While the number of affordable units is higher than the developer’s original proposal of 20 percent affordable, it still falls far below the 50 percent that housing advocates and residents were calling for, and even the 30 percent that Community Board 1 asked for.

The developers, on the other hand, seem content with the deal that was struck on the 2.2 million square foot project. John Mavroudis, a managing partner of 2030 Astoria Developers, which encompasses Alma Realty, said the company is now looking forward to moving forward on the project.

“Astoria Cove will bring much needed infrastructure, housing, retail, jobs and economic development to transform an isolated and underutilized area of Western Queens,” Mavroudis said. “It is an excellent project for the city and the community. This has been a very engaging process and we look forward to the next stage and then moving ahead with construction.”

The proposal will now go to the City Council for final approval, but it is expected that the Council will follow the lead of the land use committee.