Bloomberg and Spitzer open green affordable housing

Governor Eliot Spitzer and I announced the completion of Morrisania Homes, a 64-unit affordable housing development in the South Bronx comprised of 16 three- and 8 two-family houses. The development is the first affordable development in the State to qualify for LEED for Homes (LEED-H) designation from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. The Morrisania Homes are being developed by Blue Sea Development through HPD's Partnership New Homes Program and financed through the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation. The two and three-family homes are affordable to families of four earning $42,000. The homes meet requirements for water efficiency, sustainable site planning, energy, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and design process. All of the homes' indoor features are Energy Star certified, signifying that energy consumption is at least 30% less compared to standard features and include high-efficiency sealed combustion boilers, lighting fixtures, and recyclable carpeting. Also at the ribbon cutting were HPD commissioner Shaun Donovan, New York State Housing Finance Agency president and CEO Priscilla Almodovar, New York City council member Helen Foster, Housing Partnership Development Corporation president and CEO Dan Martin, Blue Sea Development principal Les Bluestone, and U.S. Green Building Council New York chapter executive director Russell Unger. The Morrisania Homes show that affordable housing can also be sustainable housing. Nearly 65,000 units have already been financed As we work to build housing for the million new people expected to come to New York by 2030, we need to ensure that we are building homes that people can afford and that allow the city to grow in a environmentally responsible way. These new homes are part of our 165,000 unit affordable housing plan, the largest municipal affordable housing plan in the nation's history. Nearly 65,000 units have already been financed through the plan, putting us on track to complete the plan on schedule. As part of PlaNYC, HPD is working to create homes for almost a million more New Yorkers by 2030 while making housing more affordable and environmentally sustainable. The plan also recommends that future housing developments be located less than half a mile from public transportation. The Morrisania Homes are located within a two-block walking distance of public transportation in the Bronx. The development consists of two phases, with the second phase to be completed in the fall and resulting in four three-family homes. In total,º 76 affordable will be created. HPD worked together with Council Member Helen Foster and neighborhood organizations to preserve a community garden on the designated property, and to relocate two additional gardens to an alternative site. Michael Bloomberg is mayor of New York, N.Y.