Envisioning Development at Hunter College

Our friends over at the Municipal Art Society got to work with the Affordable Housing Toolkit at Hunter College as part of the Livable Neighborhoods Training Program. The 4th annual event brought nearly 150 New Yorkers together this year to build the skills needed to strengthen neighborhood decision-making and participation.

In addition to affordable housing, participants discussed community organizing and planning for parks and public green space.

For more info on the event, head over to the MAS website

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Affordable Housing Guidebook Honored by AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers Competition!

The Affordable Housing Toolkit’s “What Is Affordable Housing?” Guidebook has been selected as part of the “AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers” competition – a collection of outstanding book and cover designs for the year 2009! The book was designed by Glen Cummings (of MTWTF) with Aliza Dzik, Josh Hearn, and Dylan Fracaretta, and features the photographs of Anthony Hamboussi. Congratulations, team!

The book will become a part of the AIGA Design Archives, both through an online archive and in print at the Denver Art Museum and Columbia University’s Butler Library. It will also be shown as part of a public exhibition opening in New York in 2010 and touring across the country and China in 2011.

Check out the winners here.

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Envisioning Development with the Housing Conservation Coordinators

Lucas Shapiro of Housing Conservation Coordinators and West Side Neighborhood Alliance used the Affordable Housing Toolkit to lead an interactive workshop at their new space in Manhattan on Thursday. They discussed existing affordable housing on the West Side, and used the toolkit to explore what types of new housing the community should be fighting for in the area. A fun time was had by all!

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Envisioning Development on the West Side!

Our buddies at Housing Conservation Coordinators and the West Side Neighborhood Alliance are using the Affordable Housing Toolkit for a community workshop tonight! I’ll post in their announcement below:

When is housing really “affordable”? Interactive workshop on April 8th!

Join Housing Conservation Coordinators and West Side Neighborhood Alliance on April 8th to learn everything you always wanted to know about affordable housing, but were afraid to ask!

This workshop seeks to answer questions, such as:
+ How does the city and federal government define “affordable”?
+ What programs produce “affordable” and “subsidized” housing?
+What is New York City’s “Median Family Income”, why is it important and how does it compare to income levels where we live and work?
+What kinds of affordable housing already exist on the West Side and what types of new housing should we be fighting for?

What: What is Affordable Housing? Interactive workshop
When: Thursday, April 8th, from 6:30-8:30pm
Where: Our new space: 500 West 52nd St., #2E (off 10th Ave)

For more details or to RSVP, contact Lucas at 212-956-2573 or LShapiro@hcc-nyc.org.

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Thank You, New York City!

Thanks to everyone who attended our Affordable Housing Toolkit Launch Party or one of our eight , count ‘em, EIGHT workshops over three days at our pop-up space on the Lower East Side. It was especially fantastic to meet new housing advocates, developers, city officials, policy folks, planners, architects, students, and random drop-ins. What a great mix of folks!

Thanks also to Beth Sorce from UHAB and Dave Powell for speaking at the party and to our volunteers for making it all work.

Finally, thanks to all the groups who picked up a toolkit and have been using it for workshops! Keep us posted!

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Envisioning Development Launch Extravaganza!

On Thursday, February 25, join CUP at our pop-up workshop space on the Lower East Side and get to know the Affordable Housing Toolkit. The launch party will feature a thrilling demonstration of our interactive felt chart, a video screening, a mini-store replete with CUP’s latest and greatest, and celebratory drinks. Beth Sorce from the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board and tenant organizer Dave Powell, who has worked with Tenants & Neighbors, Fifth Avenue Committee, and Met Council on Housing, will also be on hand to share how they’ve put the Toolkit to good use.

The Affordable Housing Toolkit is the first of the Envisioning Development Toolkits, a series that demystifies the most important, controversial, and confusing concepts in land use and development in New York City. CUP developed the Affordable Housing Toolkit to expand and improve public participation in conversations about affordable housing. In addition to the launch party, we’ll be using the space to train housing organizations, community boards, and developers to use the Toolkit. Want to find out if this tool could help you in your work? Email john@anothercupdevelopment to sign up for a workshop. Curious yet unaffiliated individuals are welcome to come, too!

AFFORDABLE HOUSING TOOLKIT LAUNCH PARTY
Thursday, February 25, 6 – 8 pm

COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
Wednesday, February 24 and Friday, February 26 at 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm
Email john (at) anothercupdevelopment (dot) org to sign up

OPEN HOUSE AND PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION
Open house: Saturday, February 27 from 12 – 5 pm
Public demonstration for those who can’t make the weekday workshops: Saturday, February 27 at 3 pm

All events will be held at our pop-up workshop space:
61 Delancey (on the corner of Allen Street)
New York, NY
B/D to Grand Street, F/J/M/Z to Essex Street – Delancey Street

The Affordable Housing Toolkit Launch is co-sponsored by our partners at Asian Americans for Equality, Fifth Avenue Committee, GOLES, the Municipal Arts Society, Tenants & Neighbors, and the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. Thanks!

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Envisioning Development in Lower Manhattan

Our pal Michael Levine from Manhattan Community Board 1 invited CUP to give a zoning workshop for his urban development and planning students at Pace University. We brought out the blocks to talk about zoning for use, zoning for design, zoning for bulk, and how FAR (floor area ratio!) works. The students asked great questions.

These workshops are part of our ongoing efforts to improve, adapt, and package our zoning tool for distribution this Summer…Stay tuned!

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Envisioning Development in TV Land

CUP and Beth Sorce from the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) presented CUP’s Online Affordable Housing Map on ‘Brian Lehrer Live’! We took a mini-tour of NYC income demographics and housing costs and talked about the concept of ‘affordability.’ Fun!

Beth showed how UHAB — which helps lower-income tenants convert their buildings co-ops — uses the map to educate staff and clients. Let’s say UHAB was working to convert a building in East Harlem, and wanted to see which families could afford to live there. Well, they use the rent sliders to input the monthly maintenance plus mortgage payment and — voila! — it shows which income categories the building targets and how well the conversion would serve the people already living in the building and neighborhood.

Watch the show here.

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