The controversial One45 for Harlem project, which could bring two towers with nearly 1,000 new apartments to East Harlem, secured the backing of Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine this week — a symbolic but significant endorsement that bodes well for its success down the line.
Levine and the developer, Bruce Teitelbaum, have struck a tentative deal as part of the rezoning process that could help the project get over the finish line nearly three years after an initial attempt to secure approval spectacularly imploded, causing a political firestorm.
The fact that local Councilmember Yusef Salaam, whose support will essentially make or break the project, has been involved in the negotiations also suggests One45 could be closer to winning favor in the all-important final City Council vote.
The proposed One45 for Harlem development would include a pair of 34-story towers at 145th St. and Lenox Ave. with 968 apartments, including 291 designated affordable, plus a commercial building. The borough president is recommending the project move ahead but with a number of conditions attached, including increasing the size of a planned community space and requiring the use of union construction workers.
But the most significant stipulation is the unusual inclusion of a memorandum of understanding. Signed by both Levine and Teitelbaum, this MOU includes the possibility of an alternative plan that would involve Teitelbaum building the first tower but selling a parcel of land to a nonprofit affordable housing developer that would construct the second tower as 100% affordable in coordination with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
The so-called “Enhanced Affordability Plan Development” could boost the total number of new “affordable” units up to 591 — but it’s far from a done deal.
“Nothing is guaranteed until a sale occurs, but there’s active negotiations underway” to sell the parcel, Levine said, adding that they’re making “good progress.”
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Levine, who is running for city comptroller, voted against the original One45 project three years ago, echoing community concerns then around affordability and describing that version as “unacceptable.”
“There was just no constituency for this project three years ago, and now there really is,” he said. “Adding hundreds of affordable units is just an incredibly valuable addition to the housing landscape, that’s what we need. We need to both fight to help longtime residents stay in their homes, and we have a parallel fight to create new affordable homes for people who don’t have them. And I’m all in on both fights, and leaving this site as a truck depot doesn’t help anybody.”
Levine’s endorsement comes as little surprise given his vocal pro-development stance amid the ongoing housing crisis.
While the beep’s backing is symbolic, not binding, it’s a positive sign for the development team that comes just two weeks after the local community board rejected the project in a 19-10 advisory vote with 5 abstentions.
“This is not an affordable housing plan, it’s a gentrification plan,” said Delsenia Glover, second vice chairperson of the board, who voted against it.
She echoed longstanding criticisms from Harlemites who have expressed concern about the project’s size, affordability levels and potential to displace locals.
The borough president’s support is also One45’s first official vote of confidence since a previous iteration of the plan infamously fell apart in 2022. The local councilmember at the time, Kristin Richardson Jordan, pushed for One45 to be fully affordable, leading Teitelbaum to withdraw the proposal and turn the lot into a truck depot in a move widely viewed as spiteful.
Richardson Jordan dropped her reelection bid in the fallout, opening the path for Salaam to take her place. He has expressed more openness to Teitelbaum’s plans and worked “shoulder to shoulder” with them in securing the memorandum of understanding, according to Levine. Salaam’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Salaam’s collaboration indicates the new iteration of One45 could be poised to succeed where its predecessor failed, namely in securing the support of the local councilmember, who traditionally dictates whether or not a rezoning passes the City Council, thanks to the unofficial practice of member deference.
Levine struck a hopeful tone as One45 continues to work its way through the city’s formal land use review process, to play out over the next few months.
“This is really night and day from three years ago, that’s why I’m very optimistic,” he said.
For his part, Teitelbaum said he was “certainly” more optimistic this time around, though largely kept mum when asked about the ongoing negotiations.
“The project speaks for itself,” he told The News. “We’ll let the process play out.”
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