Greenpoint Gazette:Greenpoint Remains Uneasy Following Waterfront Development Hearing

8/24/13 1:05 AM

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by Cynthia Magnus

Greenpoint residents and community leaders left a Community Board 1 hearing on Tuesday with concerns about quality of life, affordable housing and open space, after a presentation by city officials and lawyers for a proposed luxury rental complex on the Greenpoint waterfront. Waterview at Greenpoint will include two luxury rental towers and a smaller affordable housing building at the base of the development. Plans for a new public park at 65 Commercial Street, a city-owned lot currently used by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority were also presented at the meeting. Developers David Bistricer and Joseph Chetrit can currently build up to 15 stories at 77 Commercial Street, as-of-right. To be permitted to build the 30 and 40 story towers in the plan, they need to buy the air rights associated

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Greenpoint Gazette:Greenpoint Remains Uneasy Following Waterfront Development Hearing

8/24/13 1:05 AM

with the adjacent lot at 65 Commercial Street. They would also be required to develop 200 units of affordable housing. Market rate apartments would number 520, and the development would add approximately 1159 new residents to the area. The air rights were valued at nearly $8.2 million, which. Mayoral spokesperson Julie Wood said was determined by an independent appraiser but would not disclose details. Many residents said that losing the open skyline, while significantly increasing population density was not worth such a low price. Other opponents to the plans said the project would stress existing transportation, hospital, police and fire services, and does not offer enough to a neighborhood that was promised more open public spaces during the 2005 rezoning. I dont like the idea of developers paying for a commitment the city made in 2005, said Assemblyman Joe Lentol. That 200 units of affordable housing is a pittance of what Greenpoint needs. Carolee Fink, a senior policy advisor representing the mayors office said that the city wants to build a park at 65 Commercial Street, to be called Box Street Park, but as there is only $1 million in the capital budget, and selling the air rights to a developer would allow the city to build a better park. Neighbor Kim Masson, at 70 Commercial Street, questions who that would serve. I dont think we need corporate funds, she said, adding that a smaller park and lower 15 story building would be better for the community. Masson also worries for residents about potential environmental risks associated with the multiple simultaneous construction projects being proposed. When Councilman Steve Levin asked what happened to the $14 million allocated to building the park in 2005, Fink acknowledged that the funds existed, but had been cut to $1 million around 2008. Affordable housing within the development remains a contentious issue as well. CB1 Land Use chair Del Teague demanded better answers from the developers at August 27ths Land Use committee meeting. She questioned Jay Segal, Bistricers land use lawyer, why only 72 units would be available at the lowest tier of income. She also voiced concern that even these units would be available only to those earning at least $51,000 yearly. The community questioned why the affordable units were located in a separate building at the base of the development, leveling accusation of segregation in so-called inclusionary housing. Segal stated that his clients were within their rights to reserve the more desirable units on higher floors to market rate renters, but that the amenities within the complex would be available to all tenants. Architect John Cetra said on Wednesday that access to the waterfront via

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Greenpoint Gazette:Greenpoint Remains Uneasy Following Waterfront Development Hearing

8/24/13 1:05 AM

paths constructed by the developer would be open to the public 24 hours a day. [The figures] are whats required by the citys inclusionary housing, Segal said. We were following the programs. Eric Bederman, spokesman for the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development said on Thursday that 77 Commercial Street is a private project at this time and the developers havent applied to any HPD programs. Attendees at the hearing raised concerns that the city representatives and the developers seemed reluctant to share information and were disinterested in community input. They made no one happy, said Richard Mazur, the executive director of the North Brooklyn Development Corporation. Mazur says at the very least a new environmental assessment statement from the developer is in order. The study, which allows authorizing government agencies to decide whether to permit a new project, is necessary, says Mazur because of Greenpoints recent population increase.
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