May Vote to Delay or Send it Back to City Planning
By Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
CITY HALL — The likelihood that the city’s Coney Island Redevelopment Plan may not get City Council approval is a strong possibility.
Council members said at Wednesday’s public hearing before the Zoning Subcommittee of the Land Use Committee that they have too many unanswered questions and too many concerns.
“I believe the best thing to do is to temporarily pull the application from the ULURP clock,” said Zoning Subcommittee Chair Tony Avella, referring to the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which requires that the council vote by July 29, or by July 13, if it wishes to modify the plan and send it back to the Planning Commission.
“I want to make it clear this is not an attempt to let anybody down in Coney Island but to allow more time for Domenic [Council Member Domenic Recchia, who represents Coney Island] and the council and the property owners and the residents to come up with a better plan,” Avella added.
Council Member David Yassky also urged a delay.
“I share the vision put forward for Coney Island, but I think we do better when we rely on the private sector,” he said. “I urge you to reconsider and let the private sector do what it does best.”
By the end of the first three-and a half hours of an all-day public hearing, the council had only heard from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who outlined his recommendations; and from city staff members Seth Pinsky, president of the Economic Development Corp. (EDC); Madelyn Wils, executive vice president for planning and development at the EDC; and Purnima Kapur, director of the Brooklyn office of the Department of City Planning.
And most of that time was devoted to questions of city staff by council members. Their questions and concerns focused on the following:
• The status of property acquisitions by the city. Pinsky said the city owned 62 percent of the land it needed and that included the former cyclone and steeplechase properties, the Cyclones stadium, one large and one small parking lot and one acre just north of the Wonder Wheel. Four properties are still privately owned but offers have been made to all of them, according to Pinsky.
• The threat of condemnation or use of eminent domain, if acquisitions are not successful. Council members believe there is always a threat of eminent domain when the city is attempting to acquire property, but Pinsky said the city’s intention is not to condemn and it has been negotiating “in good faith” without the threat of condemnation.
Council members also questioned and Pinsky confirmed that even if the parkland designation is approved, “until the city owns the property, the zoning does not change, it remains the same.”
• The mapping of the amusement area as parkland (Coney East) and the de-mapping of existing parkland areas to allow housing (Coney West and Coney North). Pinsky said the mapping of parkland in the amusement area adds another layer of protection for preserving it into perpetuity. “The bottom line is without the mapping, there will be no real opportunity to preserve the amusement area of Coney Island,” he said.
As for the de-mapping areas, they allow for the development of more than 4,500 units of housing, 900 of which would be affordable, plus neighborhood retail and services, according to city staff.
• The lack of approval by legislators in Albany. Although the council was originally told that state approval would come through before the council hearing, that has not happened. Now state legislators are waiting to see if the council takes action first, according to Pinsky.
“The very first step that is necessary is that the city council OKs or supports the mapping and de-mapping of parkland,” he said.
Other questions and concerns centered around the possibility of increasing the number of affordable housing units — particularly accepting ACORN’s proposal that 100 percent of the housing on city-owned land be affordable; guaranteeing jobs first to Coney Island residents and guaranteeing all workers prevailing wages and benefits; and the costs and timeline for the project.
City staff members estimate from 10-15 years for completion of the project; Pinsky said there is $200 million in the capital budget right now, plus another $100 million in the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) budget and stimulus money available to begin making improvements now.
Calling it “bizarre,” Council Member Simcha Felder requested a delay. Added Helen Sears, “There are too many flaws. Before we can do what is expected, questions need to be answered.”
But Pinsky said he was positive that all concerns could be worked out.
“We remain optimistic that we will succeed in Albany and that we will succeed with the property owners,” said Pinsky. “If you vote on this ULURP proposal it is possible that the state may not allow it, yes, but if you don’t vote you lose everything.”
Markowitz, too, said a solution was possible.
“We don’t always agree on everything but Coney Island is bigger than all of us and we must protect it,” he said, adding, “The differences between the city and Thor may seem insurmountable now but I am certain that a solution will be found that protects all the property owners in Coney Island.”
Questions? Comments?
Sound off to the Editor
————————
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2009
All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law.
Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
