NYP: The site of a former naval prison in Brooklyn should soon be fully occupied again – just not by crooks. City officials this week began seeking proposals from developers interested in converting the former jail site on Flushing Avenue in Fort Greene known as “The Brig” into a mixed-use development featuring 400 new homes, retail space, landscaped open areas and a community center.About 275 of the 400 homes will be affordable housing for low- to middle-income families, and they will be spread along the 103,000-square-foot, city-owned tract through a mix of co-ops, condos, multifamily rentals and townhouses, said Neil Coleman, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.The community center in the complex – which is bounded by Flushing, Park, Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues – will be 15,000 square feet.

The news comes as the city’s Department of Correction engages in negotiations to redevelop part of the 760-bed Brooklyn House of Detention in nearby Boerum Hill for retail, residential or other uses.

The Brig project is part of a plan by Mayor Bloomberg to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing citywide over 10 years. Proposals for the plan are due by November, and construction should begin by the end of 2007, Coleman added.

The site, which is adjacent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, will be passed on to the selected developer for a bargain price of just $1 – in exchange for the affordable-housing guarantee.