The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), in collaboration with the Department of City Planning (DCP), is hosting community visioning workshops to better understand the needs and priorities of Greenpoint and Williamsburg residents for the redevelopment of the former Greenpoint Hospital complex.
Workshops will be held on Tuesday, November 17, at 6 p.m. at Progress High School Library on 850 Grand Street; and Thursday, November 19 at Cooper Park Senior Center on 288 Frost Street for New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents.
The workshops offer interactive activities to help residents better visualize the site so they can offer ideas about the levels of affordable housing their community needs, and the types of housing, retail shops, community facilities and public space they’d like to see built on the 146,000 square-foot site.
The first workshop was held Saturday at the Progress High School Library.
“Because community input is so critically important to the success of any development project in New York City, we need residents to let us know what is on their mind — what their housing needs are, what community facilities and other infrastructure they’d like to see in their neighborhoods,” HPD Commissioner Vicki Been said.
Councilmember Antonio Reynoso, who attended the first workshop and will offer opening remarks again at the November 17th workshop, said, “The community has been advocating for the redevelopment of this property for over 30 years. While the dire need for more affordable housing requires a larger scope than the community originally imagined, it is important for their voices to continue to be at the forefront of this process.”
Currently, the Greenpoint Hospital site includes vacant land and an empty building – previously a nurses’ residence. A second building, formerly the hospital, is used and operated by NYC’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) as a 200-bed shelter facility. A third structure is operated by that agency as a laundry distribution facility.
Since closing in 1984, the Greenpoint Hospital site has been operated by the City to provide local services, including the shelter as well as a health clinic.
In 2007, the city issued a Request for Proposals, or RFP, for a portion of the site, including the vacant land and former nurses’ residence, totaling about 59,000 square feet with potential for about 240 units of affordable housing. As part its housing plan, the city is seeking to redevelop the new expanded site, with more than double the square footage and potential affordable housing units than was proposed in 2007. Input gathered from the workshop will help shape the new RFP, which is expected to be released in early 2016.
Snacks and refreshments will be provided, and Spanish translation will be available.
For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/hpd.