City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, center, was joined by Councilmember Melinda Katz, chairperson of the Council’s Land-Use Committee, right, and architect Hugh Hardy, a member of the jury, at a Monday press conference announcing the winners of the New Housing New York design ideas competition, which focused on generating new ideas in affordable and sustainable housing design for New York City. “The need for new housing construction is one of the most pressing issues we face,” said Miller. “People should not be forced to live in subpar conditions simply in order to afford their rent. Decent, hardworking people are entitled to affordable, quality homes. The creativity of these talented winners will help us develop solutions and provide a benefit to all New Yorkers.” The competition was initiated by the City Council in cooperation with The American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York Chapter and the City University of New York. Three sites were selected: a brownstone/townhouse infill in Manhattan; a full, four-sided block in Queens; and a large avenue, full-block frontage area in Brooklyn. The first-place winners are: Manhattan site: Choi Law, an architect for the A.V.K. Group in Irving, Tex. Queens site: Margery Perlmetter, principal of Arte NY, designers of bars and nightclubs. Brooklyn site: Beth Blostein, a partner at Blostein/Overly Architects and an assistant professor at The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture. A total of $45,000 in cash prizes was awarded to each of the winners. The competition is online at: www.newhousingny.com.
