Andrea Pérez walks with her two daughters. The mother moved to Sunset Park a few years ago from the neighboring neighborhood of Park Slope in search of better prices. He explains that his case was not isolated.
“We moved just when a lot of people were coming like an exodus from Park Slope, from Windsor Terrace to look for cheaper apartments here,” Perez said.
But now he says that for five years the supply of new homes in the area has been scarce, unlike other neighborhoods in the city. And is that according to data from the postal department, in the last seven months about 300,000 New Yorkers left the Big Apple, but this is not reflected in Sunset Park.
“It is a neighborhood that feels very dense, I do not feel that it is seen, that you say … that building already has three available, this house is already empty, in volume or density I see it the same,” he added Perez.
And is that according to activists and leaders of this neighborhood, in this neighborhood there is practically no space to build and most of the residential buildings are two-story houses like the ones you see behind me.
This has resulted in large numbers of Asian and Hispanic immigrants living in overcrowded households.
“Due to the high costs, we have to live in an apartment for up to two families, 7 or 8 people,” explained Fabián Bravo, from Vecinos Ayudando a Vecinos.
Such is the housing crisis that the community board recommended approving a controversial rezoning plan for a commercial space to build a luxury apartment building.
“Because the crisis exists, the land that exists in Sunset Park is limited, we are no longer going to build more land. So we saw an opportunity … 30%, which will be like 35 apartments, which will be for people who they earn the minimum wage of $ 15 an hour, “said Cesar Zuñiga, president of the Sunset Park Community Board.
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