City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden
(Pardon Me For Asking, but how come we did not hear about this sooner from our Community Board and our Councilman?)
Per an email I received last night from Kevin Parris, Land Use Coordinator for Borough President Marty Markowitz, the Toll Brothers mega project at 363-365 Bond Street has been approved without conditions.
Surprise? No! Land Use Chair Amanda Burden and her board seem to rubber stamp most everything that is put before them. They make a great show of listening to the community members who take time off from work and family to give testimony, but then they decide as they please anyway. Most probably, the decisions are foregone conclusions and an exercise in futility if one opposes a development as a New York City resident.
I suppose we should not feel as though our voices are the only ones being ignored. Our own Borough President's recommendations were not taken into account. Because you know, none of that matters to Ms. Burden and her fellow Board Members. They just do what Mayor Bloomberg wants them to do: rezone the entire city for even MORE development.
Below is the email from Kevin Parris which landed in my mailbox yesterday.
Hello,
Borough President Marty Markowitz has asked me to reply to your email regarding the proposal by Toll Brooklyn to develop 363-365 Bond Street. The borough president appreciates you taking the time to provide him with your comments. On November 19, 2008, the borough president conducted a public hearing on the Toll Brooklyn application. Prior to the hearing he also met with residents that presented a worthy alternative plan for the Bond Street site. Several dozen emails were also submitted to the borough president.
On December 17, 2008, the borough president submitted a report to the City Planning Commission and the City Council recommending approval with certain conditions; most notably, a reduction in the height of the project. The borough president’s recommendation also addresses other issues. This includes the need to strengthen the affordable housing commitment by Toll Brothers as well as the condition of the Bond Street sewer interceptor and issues of sewer backup and flooding experienced by neighboring residents. This recommendation was based on the borough president’s review of the Toll Brothers proposal; a review of the alternative plan; and, consideration of the oral and written testimonies received. A copy of his recommendation is attached.
On February 17, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved the Toll Brothers proposal without conditions; disapproving the borough president’s recommendations. The borough president is most appreciative of the time you took to share your views with him. He believes that his recommendation would have made for a better proposal, and he hopes the City Council will realize that it would serve the project best while at the same time addressing the concerns expressed by the community. Feel free to contact me if you have specific questions pertaining to the attached report. Thank you for sharing your concerns with the borough president. The subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises is expected to conduct its public hearing on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009.
Kevin Parris
Land Use Coordinator
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz
209 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Related Reading:
Last Day To Comment On Toll Brothers' ULURP Application
CB6 Wants To Make Sure That Toll Brothers Don't Weasel Out Of Gowanus Affordable Housing Component
Toll Brothers Show Up With Usual Crew At City Planning Hearing
Will City Planning Actually Hear Community At Today's Toll Brothers' Gowanus Development Hearing?
Marty Markowitz Hears From Both Toll Brothers And From Residents
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11 comments:
This is wrong on so many levels. Empty condos BLIGHT our landscape as it is, the economy has tanked and they STILL want to build on a delicate and EXTREMELY toxic brownfield.
If EVEN Marty Markowitz has some concerns you KNOW we should be worried.
If it ever actually happens this is going to be one of those ugly holes in the ground for a couple years that are so popular in our area and other neighborhoods these days. Brooklyn is being raped.
pardon me for asking but wasn't there supposed to be another public hearing on March 10th in Manhattan?
Very discouraging news. The peoples voice means nothing in the Bloomberg regime.
hundred's of thousands of dollars of lobby money, spent on our city government, will buy a company the right to anything they want, no matter how wrong it may be.
This government is totally dismissive of the citizens who make these places livable communities,developers like Toll want to come in and suck the valus away from what we have here. In the end it will be the community as a whole that will lose out.
It is unbelievable that community members were just notified by the Borough President's office that City Planning Commission approved the Toll Brothers Gowanus Development on Feburary 17, 10 days ago.
The Brooklyn office of City Planning was at a Land Use meeting on Thursday evening at LICH, where it made a presentation of the Department of City Planning's proposed Waterfront Zoning Text Amendment, to amend certain provisions related to mandated public access areas in the Zoning Resolution text, including a special provision for the Gowanus Canal, and they didn't bother to tell us about the approval. It would seem that City Planning, especially their Brooklyn Office knew how passionately, and how hard we worked on putting together testimony for the ULURP, and that they didn't have the courtesy to let the community know in a timely manner.
In fact, the City Planning Commission approved it as it, without any consideration to the community's, the Borough President's, or the Community Board's concerns. Their disregard for our concerns shows a lack of respect for the ULURP process. We all took time out of our busy schedule to testify at the public hearing, and City Planning acted like there was no ULURP, no community process, letting the developer do what they pleased. Which is to get the zoning approved and then not putting in any low-income housing. We need to get a law passed that if a developer gets a zoning variance by promising to build low-income housing, that the restriction should become a covenant on a deed.
Barbara
Yay for jobs and economic development. Boooo for NIMPY....how much did you have to pay to lobby city government to get your down zoning, funds for landmarking and the wide streets text amendment done?
Yeah, we never get anything we want....
Jason
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Thank you for sending letters to the City Planning Commission calling for limiting the height of Toll Bros project. A commissioner told me the number of letters received was very impressive. Unfortunately the Commission was deaf to the community’s position and approved the Toll Brothers proposal without condition. In doing so they disapproved the Borough President’s recommendation, which most notably, called for a reduction in the height of the project.
The final step in the approval process is the City Council’s vote. The council’s Zoning & Fanchises subcommittee will hold a public hearing this Wednesday, March 4 at 9:30am (Committee Room - City Hall). Our last chance to scale back the development lies with the below 4 council members. Please send them the same great emails you sent Marty Markowitz:
Tony Avella, Chair of Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee
avella@council.nyc.ny.us
Melinda R. Katz, chairperson Land Use Committee
katz@council.nyc.ny.us
Bill De Blasio, council member of our district, send email to both:
deblasio@council.nyc.ny.us
and tagray1@gmail.com
Christine Quinn, Council Speaker
Quinn can only be contacted through the website:
http://council.nyc.gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml
Please include “Toll Bros 363-365 ULURP” in the email title.
In addition it would be helpful to send Marty Markowitz an email requesting him to present his position at the March 4 hearing: askmarty@Brooklynbp.nyc.gov
Thank you,
Chris McVoy
As a reminder, the presentation prepared by John Hatheway and myself calling for an 8 storey limit is here:
http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2009/01/for-home-page-click-pardon-me-for.html
Marty’s Markowitz’s position is here:
http://www.brooklyn-usa.org/pdf/ULURP/CD 6 363 - 365 Bond Street Recommendation.pdf
while I think this project is crap, and will likely go through many permutations before it is finished, and the gowanus corridor needs commercial more than residential, there is no way that it can be worse than what is there now. or i suppose you like places for bums and rats to congregate?
also, a more theoretical point: just because you take the time out to say something doesn't mean that it is valid.
a real show of protest would be to put your (not you katia, but the royal you, the CGNA, CORD, etc...) money where your mouth is and hire a land-use lawyer or planner to argue cases for you. then the arguments might be cast in a more legitimate, measured and effective light, instead of sounding like whining and NIMBY all over again, as it so often does from our corner of the world.
Batman,
If people were able to fund a land use attorney there aren't to many that would take the case since developers are their clients. It's much easier to find an attorney for an Article 78 proceeding.
article 78, ULURP, land-use attorney, city planner, ex-president...the point remains the same; there is always an outcry that developers (read: land owners with certain rights) retain people with experience to work the system. why not fight fire with fire? simply having local architects and others get up and speak out in public has not and will not continue to work.
Hi Batman,
It is sad that it would come to that, but you are probably right.
Know a land use lawyer we could hire?
"They just do what Mayor Bloomberg wants them to do: rezone the entire city for even MORE development."
Why would that be since MOST of the members of the commission are NOT appointed by the mayor?
5:01: And nearly every rezoning is a downzoning! 4th Avenue and Gowanus aside, most of the rezonings have been aimed at downzoning and keeping development out.
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