Affordable Housing Development in South Bronx Marks First Approval Under ELURP

A joint venture is test-driving the new approval process for affordable housing with the redevelopment of a New York City Department of Education-owned parking lot in the South Bronx.

Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg announced Friday morning that the city approved the first Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP) application at 351 Powers Avenue in Mott Haven, which greenlighted 84 units of affordable housing that will come with a community theater and a workforce training facility.

The developers of the eight-story, all-electric project are Lemle & Wolff Development, Help Development and True Development New York. 

The joint venture did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Delivering affordable housing more quickly is essential to building a city that New Yorkers can afford,” Bozorg said in a statement. “With our first expedited ELURP projects, the forthcoming Affordable Housing Fast Track and other new tools, we’re ensuring that every neighborhood contributes to a more vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive New York City.”

Voters approved a suite of new approval processes for new developments, including ELURP, in the November election as a way to fast-track new housing to the market, offering an alternative to running the gantlet of the dreaded Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

“With a 1.4 percent vacancy rate, New Yorkers can’t afford to wait years for new homes to get approved,” Annemarie Gray, executive director of housing advocacy group Open New York, said in a statement. “In November, voters overwhelmingly voted to fix that, and we’re already seeing the results: 80 new affordable homes in the South Bronx, moving through a fast-track process that didn’t exist six months ago.” 

Mayor Zohran Mamdani was initially reluctant to back the Charter Revision Commission proposals that created ELURP under the direction of former Mayor Eric Adams, but he stated on Election Day that he ultimately voted for them.

“Treating the housing crisis with the urgency it demands means moving at the speed of need,” Mamdani said in a statement Friday. “Mott Haven is just the beginning. We are using every tool available to build affordable housing projects faster, so working people can afford to stay in the city they call home.”

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Department of City Planning will be involved in the development as well.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.