W. 108th St between Columbus & Amsterdam Ave used to be home to several old parking garages for 500 cars. When a plan emerged in 2018 to knock down two garages to build affordable housing there was bitter opposition, with claims that the area would be less safe and that there’d be a parking nightmare in the neighborhood. In the years since the project opened in 2022 none of those fears proved true. The block is safer and more beautiful than ever. And most importantly it now includes 240 deeply affordable homes. It’s been so successful than now the third and final garage on the block is going to be knocked down for an add’l building with another 84 units. There is a lesson here. From congestion pricing to installing a Citi bike dock to building affordable housing, local projects that are opposed when they are proposed almost always win support once they are up and running. Let’s remember that for the next fight.

When we build for New Yorkers, communities thrive 🏙️ Comptroller Mark Levine stopped by the Upper West Side to see affordable housing in action and what’s still to come. This is what it looks like when we do the hard work: more housing, stronger infrastructure, and real investments that make life better for New Yorkers.