City Pitches LIC Development Deal Swap

The city is, for the first time, offering a new deal to developers of affordable housing: free air rights. The Economic Development Corporation has issued request for proposals that makes developers a novel pitch: development rights, at no cost, in exchange for a “permanently affordable housing program that maximizes both the number of housing units and the level of affordability,” according to the EDC.

The air rights on the table are for three city-owned parcels beneath the Queensboro Bridge in Long Island City. Because of bridge ramps, the sites themselves are not available for development.