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New York City Council
Landmarks, Public School 15 Annex, Brooklyn (N 260340 HIK)
Read summaries and jump into the video at the segment start.
Council staff welcomes attendees to the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, Resiliency and Dispositions hearing, reminds the public to silence devices and contact Sergeant at Arms to testify.
Councilmember Christopher Marte chairs the subcommittee, introduces colleagues, and announces the hybrid format with three landmark applications and one HPD application on the agenda.
Marte details how to register for remote testimony, submit written testimony via email, and reminds the public that decorum must be observed and no video or audio recordings are allowed as testimony.
Marte opens the public hearing for the preconsidered LU by HPD for the 511 West 171st Street Cluster Project, describing the UDAP approval and 40-year Article XI tax exemption for rehabilitating three buildings with 50 units in Washington Heights.
Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa strongly supports the application, explaining it will renovate three buildings with approximately 52 units, convert them to cooperative ownership, and provide affordable homeownership for existing tenants and 14 first-time buyers.
Marte introduces panelists Shams Al-Khafaji, Michael McCarthy, and Ariel Rawlings, and council staff administers the affirmation oath to the panelists.
Al-Khafaji introduces the project to rehabilitate three buildings in Washington Heights under HPD's ANCP program, covering the sponsor, construction lender, unit count, and sales prices for existing and vacant units.
Al-Khafaji describes the collaboration between sponsor and HPD, the role of Restoring Communities HDFC as temporary owner during construction, and the requirements for co-op conversion including training attendance and purchase participation thresholds.
Al-Khafaji explains that existing tenants earning under 80% AMI pay $250 to purchase units, those above 80% AMI pay $2,500, and vacant unit prices are set affordable to 80% AMI with mortgage plus maintenance capped at one-third of income.
Al-Khafaji explains that current TIL rents are insufficient, the ANCP rent restructuring ensures no tenant pays more than 30% of income, and details building expense categories and required 2% annual maintenance increases.
Al-Khafaji explains that qualifying residents receive Section 8 vouchers to cap housing costs at 30% of income, with an example showing a $20,000-income household paying $500 of a $1,138 monthly maintenance for a one-bedroom unit.
Al-Khafaji details the construction work including new building systems, electrification, roof and window repairs, accessibility features, and explains that residents are relocated for 24-30 months with the project budget covering moving costs.
Al-Khafaji describes the city capital loan of $500,000-$700,000 per unit, zero debt payments for 40 years tied to the Article XI tax exemption, subsidized acquisition cost of $1 per building, and additional grants from NYSERDA and other state programs.
Al-Khafaji shows a chart of estimated equity from selling a two-bedroom unit, with $32,000 after one year and $152,000 after ten years, explaining the shared equity system balances wealth building with permanent affordability.
Al-Khafaji outlines the project timeline from pre-development through construction and conversion, including 94% tenant sign-off on layouts, relocation by fall 2026, 24-30 month construction, and 9-12 month marketing and conversion process.
McCarthy describes Lemley & Wolfe's 88-year history managing and developing affordable housing, their second ANCP project, and commitment to homeownership opportunities for New Yorkers.
Marte thanks the panel, confirms no questions from colleagues, excuses the panel, and calls for any remaining public testimony before closing the joint public hearing and laying over the 511 West 171st Street items.
Marte opens the hearing for LUs 91, 92, and 93 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for landmarking PS 15 Annex in Brooklyn, Church of St. Mary on the Lower East Side, and the Lithuanian Alliance Building in Chelsea.
Marte introduces LPC panelists Stephen Thomson and Margaret Herman, and council staff administers the affirmation oath.
Councilmember Wilson delivers remarks in support of the Lithuanian Alliance Building landmark, highlighting its over 100-year role helping Lithuanian immigrants and its continued cultural significance, closing with Lithuanian phrases.
Herman, Director of Research at LPC, introduces the three designations as architecturally and culturally significant, noting strong public support at March hearings and acknowledging Chair Marte's testimony in support of St. Mary's.
Herman describes the Church of St. Mary as Manhattan's third oldest Catholic parish, founded in 1826 for Irish immigrants, completed in 1833, and redesigned in 1864 by architect Patrick Charles Keeley with a Romanesque Revival facade.
Herman explains the history of anti-Catholic discrimination against Irish immigrants, the 1784 repeal of the priest prohibition, and the 1832 construction of the first purpose-built Catholic church on the Lower East Side with fieldstone facades and Greek Revival design.
Herman details architect Patrick Charles Keeley's career designing nearly 600 churches, his 1864 expansion of St. Mary's, and the Romanesque Revival facade with double towers in red brick and brownstone, noting it is Keeley's first NYC individual landmark.
Herman describes how urban renewal transformed the block around St. Mary's, the church's 1960s partnership with HUD to build affordable housing through the Grand Street Guild, and the resulting demapping of Ridge Street and creation of community space.
Herman concludes the St. Mary's presentation, noting its continued importance to Catholic immigrants including Spanish-speaking communities today, and its embodiment of two centuries of immigrant history on the Lower East Side.
Herman presents the Lithuanian Alliance Building as an example of Chelsea's 19th century residential fabric, constructed 1876-1877 in neo-Grec style, purchased by the Lithuanian Alliance in 1910 and still operating there today.
Herman describes the Lithuanian Alliance's 1886 establishment, its purchase of the building in 1910, and its role providing insurance, health benefits, loans, and cultural preservation for Lithuanian immigrants, with about 15,000 Lithuanians in New York and New Jersey by 1904.
Herman explains the Alliance's Lithuanian-language newspaper Tavin operating from the building's basement, and describes the 1976 modernization that painted the facade white and added metal panels, later removed in 2018 to restore the building's original appearance.
Herman concludes the Lithuanian Alliance Building presentation, emphasizing its role aiding immigrants from Ellis Island onward and its continued function as a hub of Lithuanian culture for over a century.
Herman presents PS 15 Annex as a distinctive design by James Naughton, Brooklyn's prolific superintendent of school buildings, noting its later role as headquarters of the Brooklyn Girls Continuation School.
Herman describes Naughton as an Irish immigrant who built over 100 schools, the original PS 15 built in 1859 on farmland, and the 1889 annex construction to address overcrowding with distinctive architectural massing.
Herman details the Girls Continuation School as part of a program educating children over 14 who previously had no right to education, addressing challenges girls faced and teaching practical skills like dressmaking, bookkeeping, stenography, and nursing.
Herman describes the 1920s downtown Brooklyn immigrant population from Lithuania, Italy, Poland, Ireland, and the Netherlands reflected in the school, and the WPA-funded evening vocational and English language programs for adults in the 1930s.
Herman outlines the building's history after the Girls Continuation School closed in 1942, including use as a child psychology clinic, a specialized business high school in the 1990s, and the Khalil Gibran International Academy from 2007.
Herman summarizes PS 15 Annex as a building that has served multiple academic functions providing education and independence for children, women, and immigrants, and invites questions on all three designations.
Marte thanks the LPC panel for the presentation, acknowledges the arrival of Councilmember Thomas Henry, confirms no questions from colleagues, and excuses the panel.
Marte calls public witnesses to testify on the landmark designations, including members of the Lithuanian community, and reminds them to press the microphone button and observe a two-minute time limit.
A member of the Lithuanian Alliance expresses gratitude for the landmark designation, describing the building as a cultural and community space that serves as a second home for immigrants, preserving heritage and fostering connections for future generations.
Giedrius Vilkauskas, Deputy Consul General of Lithuania in New York, strongly supports the Lithuanian Alliance Building landmark designation, citing the organization as the oldest continuously operating Lithuanian organization in the world and its role in supporting Lithuanian independence and cultural sharing.
A Lithuanian community member who works at the consulate and volunteers at the Lithuanian Alliance Building gives brief testimony asking the council to vote yes, saying the building is not just a building but their second home.
Marte excuses the public panel, acknowledges Majority Whip Councilmember Hanks, confirms no further public testimony, closes the joint public hearing for LUs 91, 92, and 93, lays over the items, and adjourns the meeting.