Brooklyn community groups descended on City Hall yesterday, to protest the rezoning of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, and it seems that the City Council is on board, as it "threatened...to scuttle" the Bloomberg plan. The sticking points are that the Bloomberg plan includes a lot of development with a lot of tall buildings, and possibly not enough park space or low income housing. The Bloomberg administration counters that the plan has to be attractive enough for developers to want to develop the "polluted, underused" space.
The Politicker found out that Councilman David Yassky's office sent around an email emphasizing the importance of a public presence at the meeting: "we need protesters to chant behind her and Sean Donovan on the steps and bring signs demanding affordable housing etc." Yassky emailed The Politicker, explaining, "Commissioners Burden and Donovan have said quite often that they welcome the community's input." Touche.
Here's the Mayor's Greenpoint-Williamsburg Land Use and Waterfront Plan. Read the PDF of what the City Council was debating. The Village Voice has an article about hipsters defending Brooklyn and Curbed has links to the different groups. Additionally, we recommend reading Philip Lopate's book, Waterfront, which discusses NYC's waterfronts.
