AvalonBay’s East Harlem Tower Approved

AvalonBay Communities won approval from the New York City Council for its planned 60-story apartment tower in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood.

The planned tower at 321 E. 96th St. would rise 673 feet over the neighborhood, filling the block between E. 96th and E. 97th streets and First and Second avenues. The tower will include 1,000 apartments, a third of which will be affordable, plus three high schools and a playground.

Opposition to large scale developments like AvalonBay’s tower recently killed a mixed-use affordable housing project in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens. Opponents of AvalonBay’s tower criticized its scale. City officials countered that to create new affordable rental apartments would be too expensive.

“This is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city, and this project uses the heat of that market to serve hundreds of low-income families,” said Alicia Glen, deputy mayor for housing and economic development to Crain’s New York Business.

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