Chair Tony Avella with colleagues
Councilwoman Melinda Katz
(texting during seession)
Councilwoman Baez and Councilman Seabrook
(more texting during session)
Toll V.P. David Von Spreckelsen with his team
None of his colleagues had bothered to show up for that hearing, thereby missing the impassioned speeches by both Gowanus and Carroll Gardens residents, arguing that the site was too toxic and prone to flooding, the project too high and bulky and the affordable housing portion not guaranteed by the developer.
But none of this seemed to matter to any of the other Councilmembers. All they knew was that our Councilman Bill DeBlasio lent this project his "extreme support" as Councilwoman Katz reminded everyone. From the start, it felt as though the project was a done deal before the start of the U.L.U.R.P. process a year ago. After all, the Toll Brothers spent a sizable amount of money to lobby our elected officials.
Chair Tony Avella has won my gratitude and my admiration. He had asked the developer's representatives back a second time to clarify some issues regarding the environmental clean-up of the site. Avella also tried very hard to get a guarantee out of Toll Brothers' V.P. David Von Spreckelsen in regards to the affordable housing portion of the project. Unfortunately, he was not successful. But at least he tried to address the community's concerns, which is a lot more than can be said about Bill De Blasio.
Councilwoman Melinda Katz Explaining her 'yes' vote
Untitled from Katia Kelly on Vimeo.
Related reading:
Carroll Gardens And Gowanus Residents Showed Up To Testify, But Council Members Not There To Hear Them
For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking
0 comments:
Post a Comment