Evan Thies, who’s running for David Yassky’s City Council seat just sent me an email about affordable housing in Park Slope.

Affordable housing in Park Slope?

Well, yeah. The Fifth Avenue Committee, with th e City’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Councilmember Bill de Blasio, and local elected officials and housing advocates today to break ground on a major new affordable, supportive housing development in the South Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn .

The five-story building at 575 5th Avenue will house 49 affordable, supportive residential studio units—60 percent of which will be housing for the formerly homeless, and 40 percent of which will be affordable to low-income adults. The building – which will be built where a City-owned parking lot once stood – will also have 1,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and is designed to qualify as a LEED Gold development by using environmentally friendly materials and energy efficient mechanicals and building systems.

“This project is a major step forward to keeping this neighborhood and Brooklyn affordable for years to come, and to helping those who need affordable housing the most secure a productive future,” said Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director of Fifth Avenue Committee.  “We are proud to have led this project to fruition, and are thankful for the support of the City’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development, Mayor Bloomberg, our local elected officials – especially Council Member de Blasio – Community Board 7, and local residents.”