Melanie Myers Land Use Attorney for Greenpoint Landing Associates

On Thursday June, 27th, 2013 GWAPP and NAGG organized a public meeting in response to the public meeting at McCarren Park that took place on May 5th, in which residents were shocked and offended by presentations made by representatives of Greenpoint Landing and 77 Commercial St and unclear on the ULURP process.

Dewey Thompson of GWAPP began the meeting last Thursday by explaining that we were not…

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  1. Jen, thanks for this thorough recap on the meeting from last week. We hope that people left with a little more information about ULURP, the proposed development projects and what is coming down the pike in the coming months.

    To clarify, we at GWAPP are not opposed to tackling another rezoning. On the contrary, we think that there is a fight to be had but it is a long-term fight that will take place over years.

    In the current moment what we need to understand as a community is that THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE HAPPENING. Regardless of how much residents, myself included, don’t want 40-story buildings on the waterfront, the 2005 rezoning permits developers to do so. The community meeting on August 13th will trigger the ULURP and there is no chance of rezoning before then. If we direct our energy to fighting the 2005 rezoning and don’t engage in the ULURP, we will miss out on any chance to impact the existing development plans to benefit the community.

    Moving forward we can certainly put our efforts into addressing a new rezoning proposal in the long-term, but for now our attention should be focused on making these developments as beneficial to the community as possible.

  3. I’m not sure Rami’s comment as noted here is accurate. The waterfront was always going to be zoned down from heavy industrial, so a power plant would not have been a proper land use after the 2005 rezoning. I don’t think that was ever a point of negotiation or conflict during the community’s years-long dialogue with City Planning.

    2. Thanks Teresa. It’s not meant to come across as an “either/or.” Sorry for the confusion. Rami brought it up in a way to remind the community that is a better option for the waterfront than the power plants, which was mentioned many times during the meeting.
      “we fought the power plants”

      1. Thanks for article, Jen.
        Sounds like Lincoln is talking the most sense. Politicians can change ANYTHING they want at ANYTIME!! Need to go after politicians who will still be in office once Bloom splits.
        Hard to tell what GWAPP’s position really is on the development of the waterfront . . .
        If the waterfront was rezoned from heavy industrial use, it certainly can be zoned down, now, to preserve the waterfront!
        Greenpoint could have a gem of a waterfront, if it is preserved, and is SANDWICHED between the jungles of LIC and Williamsburg!! Imagine that!!!

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