The Queens Borough President’s land use public hearing reviewed a proposed 13‑story senior affordable housing development and related zoning changes in Astoria, officials and the development team said Tuesday.

Vicki Garvey, director of land use for Borough President Donovan Richards, opened the hearing and invited the applicant, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, to present the project. "This project certified into U LRP on April 7, and we presented at the Queen's, Community Board, One's public hearing on May 20," said Annabelle Manier, identified in the presentation as a senior planner with HPD’s Queens and Staten Island planning team.

The development team said the project would deliver a 13‑story building with 167 deeply affordable senior housing units, a single two‑bedroom superintendent unit, on‑site services and a separate three‑story community facility. Richard Ross, introduced as director of housing development at Hennig, said the building would include 132 studios and 35 one‑bedroom apartments and that "a 100% of our units will be available to seniors earning up to 50% of the area median income, up to $62,150 a year in income for a family of 2." He added that 30% of units would be set aside for formerly homeless seniors, 5% for mobility‑impaired residents and 2% for hearing and visually impaired residents.

The team described the proposed land use actions certified into ULURP as a zoning map amendment (rezoning portions of the project area from R5 to C4‑5 and C4‑2A), a zoning text amendment to establish the area as a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Area (MIHA), and designation and approval of an Urban Development Action Area (with disposition of city‑owned property). The presentation said the project site was identified in the slide deck as "31 Dash 0730 First Street or Block 611, Lot 25," and that the city would convey the site to the developer if approvals and closing proceed.

Project design and amenities presented included a street‑wall height of approximately 75 feet with setbacks to a total height described as "just under 135 feet," a 6,800‑square‑foot ground‑floor commercial space, and a roughly 4,900‑square‑foot rear passive outdoor recreation area intended for residents. The team said services would include on‑site social service offices, a gym, computer and game rooms, workforce development and health and wellness programming, and targeted services for formerly homeless seniors funded through the City HRA SARA program. All units were described as benefiting from Section 8 vouchers so tenants would generally pay 30% of income toward rent.

On workforce and contracting, the developer team said the project would support roughly 250 construction jobs and ongoing property management positions, all subject to prevailing wages. Hercules Arjorie, identified as a MEGA partner, said the team plans to invite both union and nonunion subcontractors, host local networking events and "encourage MWBE participation." Borough President staff emphasized the borough’s goal of 30% MWBE participation as a floor, not a ceiling.

Speakers and Borough President staff asked several follow‑up questions during the hearing. Staff requested details on coordination with unions, the project schedule and site remediation. The applicants said remediation work is expected but would occur after closing and that construction could begin several months after closing, with a likely earliest start of mid‑2026 and more probable late‑2026 timing depending on funding and closing. The team said the MTA has an elevator planned at the nearby 30th Avenue subway station in its capital plan and that the project team would follow up with the MTA on the elevator’s construction schedule.

During public testimony, Christina Chase, identifying herself as a long‑time community resident, said she supports deeply affordable senior housing but opposed the rezoning of properties across the street and raised concerns about building height, neighborhood character and the need for clear Section 3 and local hiring commitments. "This is more than double that," Chase said of a 13‑story building in an area she described as predominantly two‑to‑four stories. She also urged a stronger, explicit commitment to training and hiring residents of nearby public housing developments, including Ravenswood Houses.

No formal vote or Borough President recommendation was recorded during the hearing. The presentation concluded with an anticipated ULURP timeline slide noting the team’s expectation that the ULURP review would conclude by the end of the year, after which funding, closing and remediation tasks would determine a final construction schedule.

Why it matters: The project would add 167 permanently affordable units for older adults in a neighborhood with low vacancy and a high share of rent‑burdened seniors, and the associated rezoning would extend mandatory inclusionary housing requirements to adjacent properties. Public commenters flagged neighborhood character, rezoning scope and enforceable local hiring commitments as outstanding community concerns.

The Borough President’s office recorded that written testimony will be accepted until 5 p.m. the day of the hearing at planning2@queensbp.nyc.gov or by mail to the Borough President’s office at 120‑55 Queens Boulevard, Room 226, Kew Gardens, New York 11424.