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Despite Outcry, Broadway Triangle Development Approved
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 16, 2009
Modified Jul 16, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 16, 2009
Modified Jul 16, 2009
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On Tuesday night, Brooklyn's Community Board 1 voted 23-12 to convert a 31-acre area zoned for manufacturing on the border of Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant into 1,895 low-rise apartments. But the highly controversial plan for the so-called Broadway Triangle still faces bitter opposition from community groups who say they were cut out of the planning process. Opponents complain that the city awarded housing contracts to non-profits tied to influential Assemblyman Vito Lopez—the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and the Bushwick Ridgewood Senior Citizens Council—without putting the sites up for bid. Marty Needelman, a Broadway Triangle Community Coalition lawyer, says the project excludes Hispanic and African-American groups, and his group will file a lawsuit accusing the city of violating anti-discrimination laws. Opponents actually want the buildings to be much taller than the planned eight stories; Needelman says the height cap is a sop to the area's Orthodox Jewish families, who can't use elevators on the Sabbath. He tells the Daily News, "The people who voted yes sold their soul to a corrupt deal." For more on the controversy, Brooklyn Paper takes an in-depth look.
Tagged
broadway triange
brooklyn
development
williamsburg
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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