Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises · Tuesday, May 20, 2025

The one where Harlem's own son sponsored a 1,000-home tower on a derelict gas station — and his neighbors called it disp

Contents & search

item

laid over

land-use item

affordable

873

avg AMI

70%

CEQR: Other

Try

On a 145th Street site that sat a derelict gas station and self-storage for decades, developer Bruce Titelbaum and CM Yusef Salaam pitched '145': nearly 1,000 homes, 291 permanently affordable via MIH Option 2, a 23,000 sq ft community facility, all privately financed with no government subsidy. Chair Kevin Riley pressed why an alternate plan was withheld and why a high-density C4-6 zone. The room split hard: shareholders from Esplanade Gardens warned of blocked views and liquefaction risk; Sheena Benjamin (Harlem median income under $52K) called it displacement, not development; while SEIU 32

From the room

“community board raised concerns about the height of the proposed buildings, which are much higher than the tallest buildings nearby”
— Kevin C. Riley

“the plan we're presenting today, as you know, is the approved certified plan that was supported unanimously by the City Planning Commission”
— Bruce Titelbaum

“A genuine reading of CB10's resolution reveals that the board vote was not an outright no, but a call for stronger commitments”
— Delcinia Glover

“the MIH2 option is going to create uh 291 permanently affordable units for incomes across the AMI band, as low as 40 percent to 80 percent”
— Bruce Titelbaum

The decisions

01LU 0294-2025C 250115 ZMMZoning MapLaid over

WEST 145TH STREET

with 1 related matter · LU 0295-2025

The hearing on the 145 rezoning in Central Harlem was held and closed, with the item laid over for later decision. Developer Bruce Titelbaum used the record to make new public commitments at Council Member Yusef Salaam's prompting, including engaging a minority-owned (MWBE) firm on the development team and revisiting the number of two- and three-bedroom family units.

The deal

Site

WEST 145TH STREET

Affordable

582

District

District 9

Mandatory inclusionary housing

291 affordable

avg 80% AMI

291 affordable

Land-use review

CB Community Board 10

CB Manhattan CB 10

CB Community Board 10 Other

CB Community Board 10

PropertiesWEST 145TH STREET

Where it standsCB Community Board 10 ✓→Committee→Full Council

Legislation →ULURP case →

Also in the record

Records not linked to a specific agenda item

Mandatory inclusionary housing

291 affordableavg 60% AMI

Conditions

community benefits agreement commitment to help local Harlem entrepreneurs own stores, build and keep wealth in the community; upgraded retail environment
Community benefits agreement with a community advisory body to serve as a watchman and maintain communication between community and developer.
community agreement
include meaningful affordability in any approval
firm commitment to real, lasting affordability
at least one building 100% affordable

+3 more conditions

Land-use review

CEQR: Other

Questions & answers

Kevin C. Riley: Why do you need a special permit for an event space at the top of the building, how would it serve the community, will it be accessible year-round, and will there be a fee?

Yusef Salaam: How does this proposal address displacement and gentrification fears when affordable units are largely out of reach for the average Harlem family?

Yusef Salaam: If HPD funding were used to fund 100% of the affordable building, design requires two separate buildings instead of two towers on a single base — do you have an alternative design plan?

Yusef Salaam: Why are there so few two and three bedroom units proposed, and is your team willing to add more?

Yusef Salaam: After the truck-stop use of the site, why should the community trust you?

+7 more exchanges

Citations & precedent

C 250117 ZSM · Kevin C. Riley

heightened setback rules / tower regulations · Patrick Sullivan

Procedure

~10 in-person, then online in 20-25 min; first panel: Sheena Benjamin, Julius Tajin, Nadeira Elomar, George Brown — Kevin C. Riley
Chair Riley thanks Julius and moves to the next testimony. — Kevin C. Riley
Chair asks a panelist to allow Ms. Sheena to sit so she can testify next. — Kevin C. Riley
Chair asks the speaker to wrap up testimony. — Kevin C. Riley

+30 more procedural steps

The people

Public testimony: 29 in favor · 2 opposed

Practitioners & applicants

George Brown · Melba Wilson · Tanisha Grant · William Allen · Gregory Christopher Baggett · Maurice Morrell · Stacey Cohen · Julio Encarnacion · Lisa Rosa · June Andrews · +5 more

The intelligence

Every parcel, owner, and applicant in this meeting, cross-referenced against Zonable’s NYC ownership, enforcement & legislative graph — the record behind the record.

Sign in for the full graph

Owner portfolios, open OATH/ECB violations, 311 & DOB permits across every parcel discussed, developer track records, and an “ask this meeting” chat.

Ask about this meeting

Chat with AI about this meeting. Free account required.

Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises · Tuesday, May 20, 2025

The one where Harlem's own son sponsored a 1,000-home tower on a derelict gas station — and his neighbors called it disp

Contents & search

item

laid over

land-use item

affordable

873

avg AMI

70%

CEQR: Other

Try

From the room

“community board raised concerns about the height of the proposed buildings, which are much higher than the tallest buildings nearby”
— Kevin C. Riley

“the plan we're presenting today, as you know, is the approved certified plan that was supported unanimously by the City Planning Commission”
— Bruce Titelbaum

“A genuine reading of CB10's resolution reveals that the board vote was not an outright no, but a call for stronger commitments”
— Delcinia Glover

“the MIH2 option is going to create uh 291 permanently affordable units for incomes across the AMI band, as low as 40 percent to 80 percent”
— Bruce Titelbaum

The decisions

01LU 0294-2025C 250115 ZMMZoning MapLaid over

WEST 145TH STREET

with 1 related matter · LU 0295-2025

The deal

Site

WEST 145TH STREET

Affordable

582

District

District 9

Mandatory inclusionary housing

291 affordable

avg 80% AMI

291 affordable

Land-use review

CB Community Board 10

CB Manhattan CB 10

CB Community Board 10 Other

CB Community Board 10

PropertiesWEST 145TH STREET

Where it standsCB Community Board 10 ✓→Committee→Full Council

Legislation →ULURP case →

Also in the record

Records not linked to a specific agenda item

Mandatory inclusionary housing

291 affordableavg 60% AMI

Conditions

community benefits agreement commitment to help local Harlem entrepreneurs own stores, build and keep wealth in the community; upgraded retail environment
Community benefits agreement with a community advisory body to serve as a watchman and maintain communication between community and developer.
community agreement
include meaningful affordability in any approval
firm commitment to real, lasting affordability
at least one building 100% affordable

+3 more conditions

Land-use review

CEQR: Other

Questions & answers

Kevin C. Riley: Why do you need a special permit for an event space at the top of the building, how would it serve the community, will it be accessible year-round, and will there be a fee?

Yusef Salaam: How does this proposal address displacement and gentrification fears when affordable units are largely out of reach for the average Harlem family?

Yusef Salaam: Why are there so few two and three bedroom units proposed, and is your team willing to add more?

Yusef Salaam: After the truck-stop use of the site, why should the community trust you?

+7 more exchanges

Citations & precedent

C 250117 ZSM · Kevin C. Riley

heightened setback rules / tower regulations · Patrick Sullivan

Procedure

~10 in-person, then online in 20-25 min; first panel: Sheena Benjamin, Julius Tajin, Nadeira Elomar, George Brown — Kevin C. Riley
Chair Riley thanks Julius and moves to the next testimony. — Kevin C. Riley
Chair asks a panelist to allow Ms. Sheena to sit so she can testify next. — Kevin C. Riley
Chair asks the speaker to wrap up testimony. — Kevin C. Riley

+30 more procedural steps

The people

Public testimony: 29 in favor · 2 opposed

Practitioners & applicants

George Brown · Melba Wilson · Tanisha Grant · William Allen · Gregory Christopher Baggett · Maurice Morrell · Stacey Cohen · Julio Encarnacion · Lisa Rosa · June Andrews · +5 more

The intelligence

Every parcel, owner, and applicant in this meeting, cross-referenced against Zonable’s NYC ownership, enforcement & legislative graph — the record behind the record.

Sign in for the full graph

Owner portfolios, open OATH/ECB violations, 311 & DOB permits across every parcel discussed, developer track records, and an “ask this meeting” chat.

Ask about this meeting

Chat with AI about this meeting. Free account required.