I hate the term conspiracy theory. It irks me. Often valid ideas get this moniker, as well as ideas that clearly deserve the term. That said, if Joe Blow murders someone, he is a murderer. If Joe Blow and Joe Shmo decide to murder someone, that is called conspiracy murder. See how that works? If more than one person conspires to do someting illegal, it becomes a conspiracy. Now when most of the city council conspires against the will of the people of New York (in this case – Greenpoint, Brooklyn) – what shall we call that? Continue reading →
The Framework Plan for Greenpoint Landing actually shows the school one block East of the location where they plan to build. The school building will be located at 219 West Street, not Franklin Street, as this map shows.
Greenpoint Landing, for those readers who are unfamiliar, is the proposed and now, approved, project that encompasses 20 acres of the Greenpoint waterfront, and will include the construction of ten 30-40 story towers, as well as a new school and a public park.
The final vote on the project was cast on Tuesday 12/10 by the City Council, and although Council Member Stephen Levin won some benefits through his negotiations, many questions remain unanswered.
The vote was based on a hearing that took place the previous week at City Hall, where the developers presented their plan, answered questions from Levin, and heard testimonies from those opposed and supported the project. But due to a last minute location change and an overlap of several meetings, at least 10 of those speakers who were called to testify were not available by the time they were called upon. Continue reading →
Ok, here we are. This is your last shot. I’m not playin’. Either are the developers who will soon turn Greenpoint into a Disneyfied vision of Brooklyn. The last of the public meetings will take place Thursday, December 5th, 2013 and this is your last chance to do something.
UPDATE Location: 250 Broadway Committee Room 16th Floor CITY HALL Time for Commercial Street meeting: 9:30 am Time for Greenpoint Landing meeting: 1:00 pm
Anyone familiar with the politics of New York knows most of these politicians are flags flapping in the wind. Where the wind blows is the direction they point in. If you all become the wind and let them know how you feel, you may be able to get the city council to vote against this project.
Become a collective hurricane! Go to the meetings. Voice your opinions, and let it be known that you are not feeling this.
New York City is a place where change is inevitable, and where change comes, real estate development follows. It would not be the place it is without it. However the political climate during the Bloomberg era hasput this into hyper drive.
I ran into my old friend Kim Masson, who is part of Save Greenpoint, a group that is spearheading the opposition to Greenpoint Landing. Their issues with the development are not just the obvious ones most people are aware of. This is not just about being opposed to new massive buildings that will drive up rents and change the face of the neighborhood. The implications here are far more drastic.
Greenpoint is a neighborhood that has already dealt with one of the largest oil spills in the history of oil spills, and countless environmental mini disasters. I want people to be more aware of this situation so I decided to interview Kim so she can break this all down.
