The New York City Council’s Land Use Committee voted 9-0 to approve the controversial Monitor Point project at 40 Quay Street, bringing it one step closer to becoming a done deal.

Greenpoint and Williamsburg’s city council member, Lincoln Restler, ultimately approved the project after the developer committed to increasing the number of affordable units to 50%. This means that Gotham Organization, the developer, will create 662 permanently affordable units, “including approximately 110 supportive housing units, 161 units for seniors, and 329 deeply affordable units,” a press release from Restler’s office states. “The majority of the affordable units will be for people making 30-60% of the area median income.”

The project consists of 1,324 housing units, open waterfront space, and a permanent home for the Monitor Museum. In recent months, Monitor Point became a neighborhood flashpoint as community members wrestled with whether it could deliver true affordability or be just another out-of-touch project that would further drive up the cost of living.

“Our city is in the midst of a historic affordability crisis, and this project will help address the urgent shortage of affordable homes in Greenpoint,” said Restler.

“Any development on publicly-owned land must be primarily for the public good. Monitor Point will add desperately needed deeply affordable housing to our community, providing some of our most vulnerable neighbors with stable, dignified homes, while improving critical public infrastructure and expanding public green space.”

Restler, initially a vocal opponent of Gotham’s proposal, told The Real Deal that this was the “hardest negotiation” of his time in the council.

The deal also requires Gotham to contribute $300,000 annually toward the maintenance of Bushwick Inlet Park. The massive development’s potential impact on the park’s ecosystem raised concerns among many community members, after two decades of fighting to finally see it completed (a new parcel of land finally opened to the public, but acres of it still remain unfinished).

The local group Save the Inlet expressed dismay at the committee’s vote.

“The sheer scale of this development will permanently alter the experience and ecological character of the park,” the group wrote in a press release. “Three towers of unprecedented height and bulk will dominate the waterfront, diminish the openness that makes the park so extraordinary, disrupt habitat, and forever change the relationship between the city, the park, and the inlet.”

Gotham Organization will construct the project on land leased from the MTA. In order to start work on Monitor Point, the developer needs to demolish and relocate the agency’s Quay Street facility. This factor pushes back the project’s construction start date. It will likely be completed closer to 2031.

“We look forward to the full City Council vote and continuing to work with the community as Monitor Point moves closer to reality on a true public-private partnership,” said a Gotham spokesperson. “We would not have reached this important milestone without the support of the Mamdani administration, Speaker Menin, Council Member Restler, HPD, the MTA, the Governor’s office, and the many community partners.”

Monitor Point now moves to a full City Council vote next week, where it is likely to move forward, barring an unexpected mayoral veto.