Say It Ain't So, Mayor de Blasio!

“We are not embarking on a mission to build towering skyscrapers where they don't belong. We have a duty to protect and preserve the culture and character of our neighborhoods.”


Guess who said that last February?! Mayor de Blasio!

But somehow the Mayor has lost his way and now he is supporting building high-rise towers right next to our historic low-rise brownstone community.

At Wednesday's community meeting, hundreds of our Cobble Hill neighbors and friends made their feelings loud and clear: No towers in Cobble Hill! Our representatives heard our message and they are behind us 100 percent in this truly momentous effort to stop Fortis Property Group from building their high-rises on the site of the former Long Island College Hospital.

Now we need to make sure Mayor de Blasio hears us, too! Toward that end, we are petitioning Mayor de Blasio to work with us— not against us— in our efforts to significantly downscale the current redevelopment plans. We've already collected hundreds of signatures, but we needs several times that to make an impact.

Please read our petition and-- if you agree— add your vitally needed voice to our campaign. There are two ways you can participate.

1. Please print out a copy of our petition, sign, and mail to: Cobble Hill Association, 123 Congress Street 11201 (or you can drop through the mail slot).

2. Access and sign our petition online. (Your email will be your signature.)

All the community's signed petitions will be delivered directly to the Mayor's office.

Please sign today! The sooner these petitions reach the Mayor the better!

And THANK YOU! for being a part of our community.

The Cobble Hill Community and its Representatives Reject Fortis Redevelopment Plans for LICH site

City Councilman Brad Lander, New York Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, New York State Senator Daniel Squadron, and New York Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez announced at the Cobble Hill Association's fall community meeting that they would not support the current proposed rezoning (ULURP) plans for the former Long Island College Hospital site. "The community does not support this ULURP proposal— and neither do I," Councilman Lander told his constituents, who filled the auditorium of P.S. 29 and also spoke passionately against the Fortis plans, which feature luxury high-rise towers of at least 35 stories.  Cobble Hill Association President Laurel Burr and First Vice President Buzz Doherty also reported that, after holding nearly 20 block meetings to discuss the Fortis proposals, there was a clear consensus within the community that the redevelopment plans were unacceptable and needed to be significantly downscaled to win neighborhood approval. The CHA would like to thank our representatives for their work on behalf of Cobble Hill and our President Laurel Burr for her tireless efforts to mobilize community action on this vital issue. Please follow us on Facebook for the latest developments. 

When Community Advocates Are Really Paid Political Public Relations Advisors

Cobble Hill Association can now confirm that Hilltop Public Solutions, a political public relations firm operated by former top-level campaign organizers for Mayor de Blasio, is aggressively operating a "messaging" campaign in our neighborhood in support of Fortis's proposed high-rise complexes for the LICH site. Hilltop's campaigners (who say they are working for "the LICH project") are collecting and asking residents' opinions on schooling and playgrounds to forward to New York City Councilmember Brad Lander. What is not stressed by these campaigners is that both redevelopment plans will place high-rise tower complexes over 35 stories high in our low-rise historic neighborhood.

We do not believe a consultancy firm paid for by the real-estate developer of the LICH site should presume to represent our community's opinions to our representatives. We are asking all residents of Cobble Hill and throughout South Brooklyn NOT TO RESPOND to Hilltop's solicitations. CHA is reaching out to Councilman Lander's office immediately to inform him of Hilltop's stealth campaign.

For more on Hilltop's lucrative relationship with the Mayor, read this New York Times article. And in case you missed it, the Wall Street Journal also recently ran an incisive report on Mayor de Blasio's abandonment of LICH and our community. We are updating our Facebook page regularly with news and information about the Fortis redevelopment plans and what we can do to protect our community from falling victim of gross overdevelopment. Please "like" CHA on Facebook and invite your neighbors to follow us on Facebook as well. We need your support!!

Why does Fortis want your signature?

Cobble Hill Association has received reports that representatives of Fortis Property Group are canvassing the neighborhood asking people to sign a petition in support of "affordable housing” and “more parks” for Cobble Hill. Undoubtedly, these signatures are being collected to help Fortis promote its proposed rezoning of the Long Island College Hospital site. This is in addition to Fortis’s efforts on Facebook to solicit support. We are asking that residents NOT sign the petition— either on line or in person. Here’s why:

CHA does not support the current Fortis proposals and there continues to be a number of important unresolved questions over how these towers will be built without causing irrevocable harm to the historic district of Cobble Hill— and to our larger brownstone community.

The petition only addresses what Fortis claims will be the amenities related to the rezoning development they want to build and does not allow participants to express doubts, concerns, or objections about the actual plans.

The petition may not specifically mention the rezoning, but we want to remind everyone that the rezoning would result in a development much larger than they can build As of Right, and that the proposed “public park” could be used as a schoolyard.

Our greatest concern is that residents are being asked to share personal information with a major real-estate developer who may then use the data collected to make spurious claims of neighborhood support for its high-rise towers complex.

If you have any question or concerns, please reach via email, Facebook, Twitter, or leave a comment below.