BILL DE BLASIO'S STINGING PLANNED EXIT FROM CARROLL GARDENS

SHAME ON COUNCILMAN BILL DE BLASIO

PMFA has just learned that out-going Councilman Bill De Blasio will amend and erode the old law protecting Carroll Gardens' unique front yards on December 9th, requesting a change in front of the City Council to allow an exception for Hannah Senesh, the private school at the corner of Smith Street and First Place, to build on city owned property.
Just last year, the City Council passed the Wide Street Text Amendment, establishing once and for all that building and parking on the front gardens in this historical neighborhood is forbidden. Many local residents have given countless hours of their time and have fought so hard for this amendment.
Hannah Senesh Day School claims that two years after moving into its new facility at 342 Smith Street, it is already running out of space and wants to expand their building. They have asked to be allowed to build onto their (paved over) front garden along First Place.

Though I am sympathetic to the school's space issue, I believe that allowing an exception to the rule on that corner of Carroll Gardens will open the possibility to more. Imagine if more owners of corner properties should claim the right to build on their corner garden?

How typical of Bill deBlasio! Just as his term as city councilman is about to come to its end, he zings the neighborhood one last time. It wasn't bad enough that he was a mostly absent representative.

Below is a statement on this matter by members of the Carroll Gardens Coalition For Respectful Development (CORD)

BILL DE BLASIO'S STINGING PLANNED EXIT FROM CARROLL GARDENS

A 150 year old plus law, protecting the "gardens" in Carroll Gardens, is about to be thrown away by Bill De Blasio. Bill DeBlasio

The man who was quoted on the Front Page of one of our local newspapers as recently as Nov 20 saying the character of CG was so "very important to him" appears to be back peddling in a major way.

"Today we are seeing the voice of the community in action. Stopping the 333 CArroll Street development from becoming another out-of-scale development is an important step in protecting the historical character of Carroll Gardens." (Front page words of Bill De Blasio in "Hell to Pay on Carroll Street/ CG Courier/ 11/20/2009)

Despite these seemingly hearfelt words, Bill De Blasio has an exit strategy on his way to the city wide Public Advocate's office, that STINGS Carroll Gardens badly, especially in the wake of the hard won zoning regulations approved by the City Council over the last year and a half.

Carroll Gardens is unique. We were blessed with beautiful deep front gardens.These "courtyards" are specifically protected under old Brooklyn Law from having any structures built upon them.

That law is about to be changed. It is being tampered with by our exiting Councilman, Bill

de Blasio.

We learned today that DeBlasio, who has publicly supported and taken credit for maintaining neighborhood character, (link to campaign platform below) will be introducing a bill to amend the old brooklyn law on December 9th. He will be requesting a change that will allow a two story structure to be built on a courtyard on a Place block.

Once this dangerous precedent is set, there is no way of knowing what else could follow.

This is unacceptable and completely bewildering to the many many people who have worked so diligently over the years to insure that Carroll

Gardens did not lose its identity in the face of overwhelming overdevelopment.

"Fighting Overdevelopment: Bill fought to close a longstanding loop hole in the zoning text that left many streets in Carroll Gardens vulnerable to overdevelopment. The narrow residential streets were labeled “wide street” in the Zoning Resolution allowing for developers to build larger buildings. The change, advanced by Bill, appropriately characterized the narrow streets helping to preserve Carroll Gardens' character by disallowing out-of-context structures to rise on several residential blocks."

A page full of irony from Bill De Blasio's Public Advocate Website entitled: Neighborhood Preservation http://www.billdeblasio.com/node/275

How do you feel about this imminent change?

Should one Council member have the power to overturn something that affects so many?

We would like to know. Please email us at cgcord@gmail.com

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking