Another 'Yes' Vote For The Carroll Gardens Wide Street Text Amendment

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Sketch of the proceedings by Triada Samaras

Councilperson and Sub-Committee Chair Tony Avella

Councilperson Bill deBlasio

Councilperson Melinda Katz
Chair Of the Council Land Use Committee

Purnima Kapur, Director Of City Planning, Brooklyn

Richard Bearack, Deputy Director of Planning and Development,
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's office

Developer Billy Stein

Another giant step towards protecting Carroll Garden's unique character!

Yesterday morning, the Zoning & Franchises Sub-Committee of the New York City Council Land Use Committee, chaired by Queens Councilperson Tony Avella , voted 6-0 to approve the Carroll Gardens' Wide Street Text Amendment.
Prior to the vote, Purnima Kapur, Director Of City Planning in Brooklyn and her assistant, Jennifer Posner, presented the text amendment and briefly stated the reasons why it was introduced. Richard Bearack, Deputy Director of Planning and Development of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's office, Councilperson Bill De Blasio , Oscar Jones for State Senator Marty Connor's Office as well as Craig Hammerman, District Office manager of C.B. 6 all spoke in favor of the Text Amendment.
Then Carroll Gardeners had one last opportunity to have their voice heard.
Members of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association gave passionate testimonies about the need to protect the unique brownstone character of Carroll Gardens. Members of C.O.R.D. spoke in favor and submitted almost 700 signed petitions in favor of the amendment.

There were only three people giving testimony against the amendment.
Two were given by Peter Pober and his wife, new C.B.6 Board member Judith Thompson. Pober's objection to the Amendment seemed to encompass a whole number of grievances. He accused the neighborhood of being elitist and of trying to insulate the neighborhood. He made the claim that it is only in white, middle class neighborhoods that people were concerned with preservation. The one statement that stuck out was his assertion that " a vote for the Amendment is a vote for segregation."
Judith Thomson's objections were with the lack of notification to the neighborhood and her concern that the setback rules would ruin the uniform streetscape.
She also made the assertion that the amendment would reduce the available housing, by forcing people who could not expand their houses, to occupy more of their buildings, thereby pushing tenants out of the neighborhood.

The third testimony against the Text Amendment came from the attorney for Developer Bill Stein of Oliver House at 131 Second Place /360 Smith Street. Mr. Stein's project will be directly affected by the Amendment, should it pass.
Accusing the Carroll Gardens community of having requested the Amendment for the sole purpose of stopping the construction of his building, the lawyer stated that her client had bent over backwards to please local residents. As examples, she insisted that Mr. Stein had been attacked for his choice of architect and had to change to another at considerable expense to him. (The original architect was the notorious Robert Scarano.) The attorney also mentioned the difficulties of building on his site which is located right over a subway station.
Through his legal council, Stein let slip that if he did not get an exemption and had to argue his case in front of the office of Standards and Appeals, the inconvenience
to the neighborhood caused by the closure of the F train station in the footprint of his development, would just be prolonged. It was a thinly veiled threat that certainly will not endear him to the Carroll Gardens neighborhood.
Councilperson Bill de Blasio strongly disagreed with Bill Stein's assertion. He stated that the Wide Street Zoning Text Amendment had been discussed years before Mr. Stein actively started the construction process of his Oliver House project.

Today, the Land Use Committee of the City Council will vote on the amendmend, followed a vote by the full Council On Wednesday.