BARTEK, city planning staff, told the Community Development & Housing Committee at its Jan. 6 meeting that the Kingston Housing Authority plans to demolish 32 existing studio units at 206 Flatbush Avenue and construct a new four-story building with 82 one‑bedroom units.

"This communication came to the planning board ... Essentially, the planning board is asking you whether you concur with their intention to serve as lead agency" for SEQR review, Bartek said. He noted the matter had been before the planning board and that some design details had changed since that earlier appearance.

The committee discussed procedural timing under SEQR and whether the committee needed to adopt a resolution to concur as lead agency. A staff member noted the council had a 30‑day window to respond and that, after that period, the planning board can treat the council's nonresponse as a concurrence; committee members agreed the council could also choose to act but that doing nothing was an option. No motion or vote to adopt or decline lead‑agency status was recorded in the committee discussion.

Committee members asked staff for clarifications about project details that differ between the planning submission and recent discussions: whether excavation would occur; whether the project would change parking or traffic patterns; whether Kingston Housing Authority (KHA) would remain an owner or majority owner during and after development; and how tenant rents and subsidy programs would be affected. Bartek and other staff answered that some items could change as the site‑plan and financing details were finalized, and that ownership arrangements sometimes include a period when a private developer and the housing authority are co‑owners and that certain subsidies interact with tenant rents.

Committee members asked about wastewater capacity; staff responded that the Kingston wastewater treatment plant has capacity to handle additional residents associated with the project.

No formal action, motion text, or recorded vote on the lead‑agency question or on approval of the site plan appears in the committee transcript. The committee moved on to other agenda items after asking follow‑up questions and hearing the staff clarifications.

The discussion will move forward as the planning board and KHA refine the application and financing; any future changes to the environmental assessment form or site plan would be addressed in subsequent reviews.

The committee's conversation included commentary about long‑term tenant rents and subsidy structures but recorded no binding direction to staff to adopt or reject SEQR lead‑agency status at this meeting.