Friday, October 23, 2020

Tic Tac Toe: Last Night's CB6 Gowanus Rezoning Meeting Proves Why ULURP Meetings CANNOT Be Held Virtually

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Listen Up, dear Gowanus neighbors! Mayor De Blasio wants to deny us one fundamental rights provided to all residents in the City.
Last night's Community Board 6 Land Use/Landmark meeting about the Gowanus Rezoning with the Department of City Planning (DCP) was held virtually, and it became clear quickly that it was highly curated and that the board carefully chose which questions from the community they allowed. The audience could not see each other, there was seemingly no way to see who participated, and early on, board member Daniel Kummer was thrown off the call. At one point, the chat function was temporarily disabled while Councilmember Brad Lander sang the praises of the democratic planning process he provided to the Gowanus community.

About 350 people had signed into the meeting, which shows amazing engagement for an issue that will have tremendous consequences not only for Gowanus, but also Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope. After all, the proposed rezoning covers 80 blocks.  However, we should insist on a moratorium on the rezoning while it is not possible to hold safe, large-scale, in-person public hearings.

Here is why:

An attempt by the city to proceed with "virtual" public hearings for the proposed Gowanus rezoning while it is not possible to hold safe, large-scale, in-person public hearings will violate the city charter's requirements for ULURP." 

Now, City Planning knows this, CB6's Executive Board knows this, and so does Councilman Brad Lander and are on board with the certification of the rezoning in January 2021.

Therefore, last night's dog and pony show was an attempt to normalize something that is just not normal...during the Covid-19 pandemic that has turned previous assumptions about Gowanus and the rest of the City upside down.

No new information was given to residents last night.  DCP's Jonathan Keller tried his best to make the argument that Covid has made the need for 8,000 units of housing in 22 and 30 story buildings  more urgent, while we know that entire office buildings that could be converted to housing now stand vacant and apartment vacancies are at an all time high.

Councilman Brad Lander, who is currently running for Comptroller, is proposing the sale of air rights to private developers to help finance repairs to the three badly deteriorated NYCHA developments, Wyckoff Gardens, Gowanus Houses and Warren Street Houses.
To him, achieving this goal is his "fundamental bottom line" for supporting the rezoning. Without it, "it is not worthy of moving forward," he declared last night.

One does have to wonder why it would take the largest upzoning in current New York City history to bring relief to NYCHA residents.
Brad Lander has been in the New York Council for 11 years, having benefited of  the right to a third term under former Mayor Bloomberg. What has Lander done for NYCHA residents in all these long years.

And where was his side-kick Councilman Stephen Levin, whose district actually includes the three NYCHA developments. Another three-termer, he didn't even bother to log into the meeting last night.

Even NYCHA resident Karen Blondel, who is a member of the pro-Gowanus-development Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice and community organizer for the Fifth Avenue Committee, seemed peeved.
"In a comment on the sidebar, she wrote: "We need a NYCHA plan now before certification. Where is the upfront funding for Gowanus and Wyckoff?"

Where is it, indeed?



9 comments:

Unknown said...

I agree with everything, except on fact. Lander is running for Comptroller, not Public Advocate. ABL4C - Anybody but Lander for Comptroller.

gowanee said...

It was a catastrophe. I left the meeting early because there was no transparency provided as far as who was at the meeting, the comments were disabled, just bad manipulated theater. An insult to the community and attendees. No thank you. Senator Schumer's quote: "A virtual hearing is virtually no hearing at all." applies to meetings as well.

Katia said...

Thanks for the edit. I will correct immediatelly

Anonymous said...

You can let Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President, know your feedback about this CB6 Zoom.
askeric@brooklynbp.nyc.gov

Anonymous said...

Another question on facts. How does the public know there actually were 350 people in attendance?

Not being able to see even names of fellow interested community members, why should anyone believe 350 was the number? It could have been made up for show. And how did they determine which half dozen or so community members got a turn to ask a question? It's not like anyone witness a typical first-come-first-serve signed up list or anything.

No public transparency here, just ZOOM putting way too much power into the hands of these bureaucrats. With this much erosion of our public rights, why do we bother fearing a Russian takeover, when it looks like we may all ready be there?

Anonymous said...

5:12 you are so right. Not fearing Russian takeover. There is no democratic process here already - and the person who should be outraged, Brad Lander - as our voted in representative, is actually part of this rigged process.

Everything about the Gowanus Rezoning smells of rigged: the public participation in the form of "Bridging Gowanus" was rigged. The community did not ask for the 20-30 towers all over Gowanus.

The community did not ask that Public Place be usurped by "Affordable Housing" when it is still in fact designated to be an open recreational space for the community. Brooklyn is underserved for parks.

Lander/DCP trying to shove through this Rezoning proposal, acting as if the community participation requirement of the ULURP process can be readily and legally fulfilled with Zoom, is an attempt at taking away our rights.

And this is for Lander's convenience, because he needs to get this done and deliver to developers before he leaves office.

And he wants to become NYC Comptroller? Not getting my vote.

Anonymous said...

Wow I felt I was in a Politbureau meeting Soviet Russia. Brad Lander doing the bidding for all the developers pockets he is in. Democracy for sale !!!!

Unknown said...

Has anyone looked at donations from lobbyists in connection with developers for the Gowanus?

Remember when Toll Bros who were supposed to build on the Gowanus threw a fundraising party for supporter in chief DeBlasio? Any similarities here?

Anonymous said...

Levin is his sidekick, lol. Sad he did not even zoom in.

Candidate Brandon West is running for the council where Lander has been, look into his candidacy, our reading group supports Brandon West.