Residents pack meeting on plan to develop 'last large public site' in Greenpoint

Описание: 🏗️ Those who oppose and support a plan to build more than 1,000 units on a sizable piece of public land in Greenpoint showed up at a raucous community board meeting Tuesday.

Signs at the meeting read, “Bushwick inlet can’t be replaced” and “Say no to luxury towers,” but there were also messages of support like, “Union jobs + housing for BK.”

Opponents cheered when City Councilman Lincoln Restler took the mic to oppose development of “the last large public site in Greenpoint.”

“Public land must be for public good,” he said, adding the area has built “well over 26,000 units of housing, but the vast majority of that housing is market rate luxury housing” that he says the community cannot afford.

Katherine Thompson, a grassroots community organizer, said the neighborhood does not need another luxury apartment tower. She also cited environmental concerns.

“There’s a lot of marine life that breeds here,” Thompson said. “And so this project aims to, you know, put three huge buildings right up against the edge of the park.”

The Gotham Organization plans to lease land owned by the MTA to build more than 1,100 units, 460 of which would be affordable housing.

Gotham’s president of development, Bryan Kelly, said that means 40% of units would be for low- and middle-income renters.

“460 homes,” he said. “One thousand residents who can now call the waterfront home.”

Kelly was cheered by union laborers excited by the prospect of more jobs.

“This is going to be the vision of the future of affordable housing in New York,” said Robert Brunotte, an organizer for Laborers Local 79.

Also in support of the plan was lifelong resident Anthony Medina, who remembers the area’s gritty and industrial past.

“It used to be total like a wasteland, you know,” he said. “Now it’s getting housing. People get together, and it’s all good. It’s a great thing to do.”

🎤 Marla Diamond reports

📸 Marla Diamond, Google Maps

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