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Borough Hall protest decries gentrification

Protesters rallied outside Borough Hall Wednesday to decry the mayor's affordable housing plan, claiming it will lead to gentrification and force them from their neighborhoods. The focus of the protesters'

News 12 Staff

Mar 31, 2016, 3:07 AM

Updated 3,175 days ago

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Protesters rallied outside Borough Hall Wednesday to decry the mayor's affordable housing plan, claiming it will lead to gentrification and force them from their neighborhoods.
The focus of the protesters' complaints are proposed high-rise buildings in low-income neighborhoods like East New York and Crown Heights.
The mayor's plan requires a percentage of those units to be set aside for affordable housing, but the protesters question the mayor's definition of affordable. They say his guidelines don't reflect the financial realities of struggling New Yorkers.
Protesters also directed displeasure at the powers of their community boards, whose members they say they want to have a choice in selecting. They also want the boards granted veto power over significant proposals like the redevelopment plan.
Mayor Bill de Blasio's office defended his housing plan, saying that it requires developers to permanently provide affordable housing for the first time.