Community Board 6 last Wednesday approved a proposal for a controversial 11-story apartment building in Forest Hills, by a 37-3 vote.
The 115-foot-tall development at 69-67 108 St. would include 59 housing units, 15 of which would be deemed permanently affordable for those making 60 percent of the area median income at most, and retail space. Of those apartments, 28 would have one bedroom, and 31 would have two.
Representing the applicant at the board’s May 13 meeting at Borough Hall, attorney Richard Lobel said the development would be among several tall buildings already in the area.
“There are basically six-story buildings ranging up to 13- to 14-story buildings within a block to two blocks of the site,” Lobel said. He said also that the apartment breakdown is considered “a very healthy unit mix,” and dwellings would be marketed to area residents, though not set aside specifically for them.
Prior to the vote, numerous speakers in the public forum voiced concerns about the development, especially about more traffic and less parking if it comes to pass.
No new parking is included in the development, nor is it required.
“Dozens and dozens of street parking spaces have been eliminated,” area resident Charles L’Fassy said. “This building will only create more parking issues.” He said also that the already “brutal” traffic on 108th Street is going to become “nightmarish.”
But a lack of new spots was not a concern for others.
“One of the problems we see is that if you build a lot of parking, you’re inviting people with cars to come into the community, into that housing,” said Second Vice Chair Peter Beadle, who heads the Land Use Committee. “That’s why in these transit districts, which this is located in, the zoning law has now waived the parking part.”
The project architect later said a small amount of parking in a basement or sub-basement would be possible, from a zoning and architectural standpoint.
Some said the new building would be out of character with the rest of the area.
“Our neighborhood is falling victim to overdevelopment and overpopulation that is not expected within these quiet family blocks,” Forest Hills resident Sharon Suggs said, calling for the proposed building to be just six stories and worrying that it would set a precedent for future developments.
The Transportation Committee had recommended conditional approval, calling to drop the height to eight stories; include a setback so as not to block sunlight from the Wareham Apartments to the north, at 69-81 108 St.; have the facade be made of brick and stone; and raise the number of affordable units from 25 to 30 percent of the building.
Beadle said the committee also pushed for commercial tenants that “provide direct benefits to the community,” and emphasized that members do not want to set a precedent for other rezonings in the area, known as Cord Meyer, which he termed a single-family housing district.
Former Chair Heather Beers-Dimitriadis suggested sticking with the 11 stories proposed, explaining that market-rate units subsidize affordable ones, so a shorter building would lead to fewer of them.
“If this development is coming, it should deliver the greatest possible affordability benefit to this community,” she said.
Several other members concurred, lamenting a lack of affordable units in the area. The board voted 25-15 to remove the eight-story condition from the committee’s recommendation, before voting overwhelmingly in support of the proposal.
In other business, the board by a unanimous voice vote opted to support an Open Street application on Austin Street between 71st Avenue and 71st Road on Sundays from Aug. 30 to Sept. 20.
Most public speakers who discussed the Open Street supported it, but some had concerns about congestion on other streets, a loss of parking and stores that get deliveries on Sundays. Leslie Brown, who heads the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce, also has long opposed the Open Street.
Organizers said they got positive feedback about the Open Street after they held a one-day trial for it last year. The stretch also was closed as part of the city Department of Transportation’s Halloween “Trick-or-Streets” program last year.
New liquor license applications by Lowkey Garden Lounge, Lagman Lounge and Montoya’s Mexican Restaurant & Bar in Forest Hills also were unanimously approved, as were renewal bids by Avellino Ristorante & Pizzeria in Rego Park and Forest Hills’ American Legion Post No. 1424 and Bangkok Cuisine.