Town Hall Meeting on Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Issues

The Brooklyn Heights Association along with its coalition partners –Save the View Now, Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund  and People for Green Space Foundation– invite you and your neighbors to a Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, May 4th to hear an update on three important development issues within Brooklyn Bridge Park:

1. The obstruction of the views of the Brooklyn Bridge by the Pierhouse
2. The violation of the Scenic View District (SV‐1)
3. The unnecessary towers proposed for  Pier 6 at the foot of Atlantic Avenue.

BBP Development Town Hall

Wednesday, May 4th

7:00pm - 9:00pm

St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church

157 Montague Street

Brooklyn Bridge Park - Pier 6 Townhall

Rendering of POTENTIAL towers that will dominate the foot of Atlantic Avenue

Though winter is in the air, many people in the neighborhood are already thinking about outdoor park space. In particular, the space at Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 in which potential high-rise waterfront condos may soon emerge. Local advocacy groups, including the Cobble Hill Association, have long been opposed to an element of the Park's General Project Plan that dictates housing is the only viable remedy to its mandate that it be a financially self-sustaining entity. Recently residents of 1 Brooklyn Bridge and a new 'Save Pier 6' litigant group have picked up this fight and taken aim at stopping further development. While the Park opposes their claims of faulty math, the housing issue is being out front and center this weekend. Come join the meetings listed below to get loads more info on the housing that might soon inundate the neighborhood.

- Town-Hall style forum will be held this Saturday, Jan. 24th at 3 PM the Zion Lutheran Church on Henry Streetbet. Clark and Pierrepont in Brooklyn Heights (see flier, below).
UPDATE - click here to see the full presentation if you could not attend in person. 
http://media.virbcdn.com/files/67/d612e443d206f6df-Presentationtownhalljan242014FINAL.pdf

- Brooklyn Bridge Park Community Advisory Meeting, on Tuesday, Jan. 27th at 6:30 PM at Mt. Sinai Temple, on Cadman Plaza bet. Clinton and Clark St, also in the Heights.

Judge blocks towers, Politicians hope to halt development

As Mary Frost reports in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, a new park advocacy group - People for Green Space Foundation - has won a temporary restraining order that prevents Brooklyn Bridge Park from moving forward with its Request for Proposals (RFP) that could bring two residential towers to the foot of Atlantic Avenue adjacent to Cobble Hill. The advocates have argued that the RFP was altered after the fact to include affordable housing, a key issue that Mayor DeBlasio has raised citywide in all potential developments.

In response, the four local elected officials - State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblymember Joan Millman, and City Councilmembers Brad Lander and Steve Levin - released a joint statement below:

"This lawsuit is yet another example of why we have urged the administration to stop moving forward at a breakneck speed on the Bloomberg-era plan for housing at Pier 6, and instead begin to work with the community.
“We have long voiced concern about housing in the park and will continue to do so, especially in light of the continued unknowns at the LICH site, which is a stone’s throw from Pier 6 and will have infrastructure and planning impacts on the same immediate area. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation and the Administration should immediately cease any action on this RFP and begin a community-driven process to revisit other viable options to the Bloomberg plan for housing at Pier 6."

The Cobble Hill has long been opposed to housing within Brooklyn Bridge Park, and instead hopes to see all park land maximized for the active use of the residents of Brooklyn. Judi Francis, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund - of which the CHA is a coalition partner - added, “We are now at a crossroads and look to the Mayor’s leadership to pull us away from the draconian Bloomberg policy of privatizing our public parks with private housing.” The Defense Fund's full statement can be found here.

Brooklyn "Skyscraper" Park?

For years, the Cobble Hill Association has advocated for the creation of Brooklyn Bridge Park to serve the growing borough's needs for active recreation and green space. We are glad to see tens of thousands now come to the waterfront each day to enjoy the developing park, but have long felt private housing should not be in the mix. We need a park, not a large scale project with private high rises. Unfortunately, that has been the path towards the creation of Brooklyn Bridge "Park" and it shows no signs of stopping. 340 Furman is already in place, but recently revealed plans suggest two new towers will soon be dominating the Atlantic Avenue gateway as well.

Rendering of the development sizes slated for Pier 6 at the foot of Cobble Hill. Site A will be a max 315 feet (with 290 units) while site Site B will reach up to 155 feet (with max of 140 units of affordable housing & retail)

The press has begin taking note of this potentially massive change to our neighborhoods landscape with articles in both Brownstoner and the Wall Street Journal. Concerned residents have begun this change.org petition to oppose the pending monoliths and the Cobble Hill Association has signed on to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund letter below which was sent to Mayor DeBlasio asking for his leadership to eliminate new housing in the park.

Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund Letter to Mayor Deblasio

Improving the approach to Brooklyn Bridge Park

The Cobble Hill Association has long pushed for pedestrian safety improvements for our residents and visitors approaching Brooklyn Bridge Park. While some positive changes have come to fruition, there is certainly still more to do. Fortunately, another group now also hopes to bring about improvements.

The newly created Atlantic Avenue BID recently met with urban designers of Planning Corps, to explore ideas for making the tunnel under the BQE more interactive, appealing and useful to pedestrians passing through on their way to Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Think this is a worthwhile project to get underway in our neighborhood? Voice your opinions in the comments section below and be sure to read the full story from DNAinfo here.  http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120815/columbia-street-waterfront-district/atlantic-avenue-bid-plans-improve-bqe-underpass#ixzz23pL0izcJ

TONIGHT - share ideas w/ the NYC Fieldhouse at Brooklyn Bridge Park

As you know, the NYC Fieldhouse, a not-for-profit organization, has offered to underwrite the design and construction of a year round, multi-purpose recreational and cycling facility on Furman Street near Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. (if you didn't know that, read some of those details right here). 

We hope you will be able to attend one of three upcoming forums to learn more and share ideas on programming and design with representatives from NYC Fieldhouse and Brooklyn Bridge Park. 

Public input will help shape the overall use of the facility and is important to the process. 

June 18: Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens

Long Island College Hospital

339 Hicks Street

6:30pm-8:15pm

June 20: Red Hook

South Brooklyn Community High School

173 Conover Street

6:30pm-8:15pm

June 25: Brooklyn Heights/Downtown

St. Francis College, Callahan Center

180 Remsen Street

6:30pm-8:15pm

Year round recreation for BK Bridge Park!

The Cobble Hill Association has long advocated for a true park along the east river, to serve as a year round recreational amenity for our residents. Brooklyn Bridge Park was to have been a year round active and passive recreational park. When the community plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park was replaced by private high rise condos with landscaping surrounding commercial buildings, the CHA worked hard to restore the year round recreational amenities that were taken out by the presence of condos.

Today, after 30 years of planning and 7 years of strenuous advocacy by the Cobble Hill Association and the coalition of neighborhood associations united under the Brookyn Bridge Park Defense Fund, we are very pleased to announce that a donor has come forward, offering to build a year round recreational facility at the south end of Brooklyn Bridge Park. This donor, Joshua Rechnitz, is proposing to build a $40 million year-round recreational center for public use. And while details about the facility will emerge in the coming months, we hope area residents will celebrate this generous donation by Mr. Rechnitz and tune in as plans coalesce. His generosity, initiated completely on his own, is a big statement for philanthropy in NYC today and wonderful news for area residents!

To read the full press release, check the links after the jump.

BK Bridge Park Decision

The city announced plans which may potentially eliminate the need for new housing on Pier 6 of Brooklyn Bridge Park, yet would still drop housing in Brooklyn Heights. The Cobble Hill Association has long fought for an inclusive, community oriented park without private housing, not piecemeal plans which pits neighborhood against neighborhood.

Our friends at Cobble Hill Blog covered some of the story, as did the NY Times.  However, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund released a very strong press release in response, with Cobble Hill Association President offering these words -

“We deeply regret this inevitable result of the Mayor and the Brooklyn Heights Association's preferred ‘housing only’ alternative to financing the park,” said Cobble Hill Association President Roy Sloane. “It is especially sad given how hard community activists and former Borough President Howard Golden fought to secure this Con Ed brownfield for a park to serve the residents of DUMBO, Vinegar Hill and the Farragut Houses. Seeing park land given up to development especially when so many viable funding mechanisms were identified in the recent "Committee for Alternative to Housing " conducted by Bay Area Consultants, is especially disturbing.”

Click for full BK Bridge Park Defense Fund press release.

Local Spotlight: Dorothy Siegel

Our very own local activist Dorothy Siegel was recently featured with a full article in the Patch.com.

Siegel is a political activist... a preservationist and a community builder: as a concerned resident she has fought time and time again to help maintain the character of Cobble Hill and to build parks....

Siegel's big issue today is Brooklyn Bridge Park. She has been working for many years, with a host of other locals including Roy Sloane, President of the Cobble Hill Association, to fight against the city's plan to build private housing within the footprint of the park.
"We've been fighting for a real Brooklyn Bridge Park for years," she said. "We mounted a battle, and it looks now like the city is blinking."

To check out the full interview, check out the link below.
http://carrollgardens.patch.com/articles/headliners-longtime-resident-and-cobble-hill-activist-dorothy-siegel

BK Bridge Park Board of Director's Meeting

Reprinted from our blogging friends at the Cobble Hill blog...

The board of directors of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation will meet on Monday, July 18, starting at approximately 1:30 p.m., at the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Heights branch, 280 Cadman Plaza West (at Tillary Street). The public is invited.
There is no agenda yet available for the meeting; we will publish it as soon as it is finalized. It may include action on the recommendations of the board’s Committee on Alternatives to Housing.

As noted in the Cobble Hill Association's postings last year (BK Bridge Pk Statement), we remained firmly opposed to new housing within the park and believe there are numerous non-privatizing ways to instead fund park maintenance. We envision a world class park with the recreational opportunities our borough wants and deserves, not a landscaped backyard for luxury condos.

We Demand it Again; No Housing in BK Bridge Park.

Last Wednesday at LICH, the Community Board 6 and Community Board 2's motions against housing  inside Brooklyn Bridge Park were upheld by the Mayor-appointed Community Advisory Committee.

This is particularly significant because the park's pro-housing operators had tried unsuccessfully to claim that the citizenry of Brooklyn - those individuals they had hand picked to be on the Committee in the first place - agreed that housing was the only solution for park payments.  It is obvious once again that the people of Brooklyn know that more housing is not needed inside Brooklyn Bridge Park and that there are many ways to pay for park maintenance without private housing. They have demanded that the Jehovah Witness properties adjacent to the park be mined for tax revenue; that the city explore a Real Estate Investment fee (used to secure and protect open space in East Hampton) and that all concessions, including the River Cafe inside the park, pay-in; that the combination of off site and on site parking, events and movie shoots will also go a long way to pay for the park without housing.

Please read the Community's motions for yourself. 

Motion passed at April 20, 2011 CAC meeting at LICH:

Maker:             Dorothy Siegel, BBPDF
Seconder:      Richard Bashner, CB 6

The CAC endorses the positions taken by CB6 and CB2 that encourage the BAE to aggressively study potential revenue generating ideas and expense reduction options, including fundraising/sponsorship opportunities and options involving the Watchtower properties. In addition to the revenue sources mentioned in the CB2 and CB6 resolutions, the CAC urges BAE to consider other potential revenue sources including, but not limited to: a real estate transfer fee; enhanced revenues from parking (specifically, the police garage); alternative approaches to the PID; and potential revenues from the yacht marina. The CAC further urges BAE to provide a point by point analysis of the revenue generators covered in the 1997 Praedium Group study.

CB2 & CB6 urge more exploration

The fight against building unnecessary housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park continues and now both Community Boards 2 & 6 have passed resolutions urging more exploration. A weak study was done by the Committee on Alternatives to Housing, but failed to include the potential sale of Watchtower Properties as revenue generators.  The Brooklyn Eagle has more details below.
Debate on Park ‘Alternatives To Housing’ Is Still Alive

final chances to OPPOSE housing in our parks

CB 6 sent along this message the other day. Please use it as another chance to stand up for a true Brooklyn Bridge park... that is one without private housing. It should feel like a lawn for all of Brooklyn to enjoy, not just a backyard for wealthy hugh rise condo owners. As our Cobble Hill Association president Roy Sloane eloquently put it last week "I will never support housing in this park until there are high-rises in Prospect Park, Central Park and every other major park in this city."

- - - -
Representatives for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation have agreed to brief us on the Draft Report findings for the "Study of Alternatives to Housing For the Funding of Brooklyn Bridge Park Operations" prepared by Bay Area Economics for the Committee for Alternatives to Housing.

The meeting will be hosted by the Brooklyn CB6 Executive Committee at 6:30pm on Monday, April 11th, at Long Island College Hospital, 339 Hicks Street (at Atlantic Avenue), Brooklyn.

The report itself can be viewed by clicking here, or at the following link:
http://www.brooklynbridgeparknyc.org/about-us/project-approvals-presentations

Written comments on the report are due by April 25th and may be submitted directly to:
bbptestimony@bae1.com

Safer routes to Brooklyn Bridge Park/Pier 6

Councilman Brad Lander is renewing his efforts to make the Department of Transportation address the immense dangers in accessing our waterfront park at Pier 6 with a new online petition. It just takes a few seconds to sign, and will go a long way to keeping the issue on DOT's radar so that hopefully it can be addressed BEFORE the warm weather ushers in new visitors to harm's way as they head to the park.

As we saw last year after the new park opened, the current routes along Atlantic Avenue and Columbia Streets, past the entrances to the BQE, are just too dangerous. With spring upon us, we need some adjustments (e.g. a new traffic light at Congress and Columbia) soon.

Please sign Brad Lander's petition calling on the NYC Department of Transportation to make routes to Pier 6 of Brooklyn Bridge Park safer for pedestrians, and pass it along, if so inspired.

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/2777/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3735

Testify AGAINST Housing in BK Bridge Park

The Cobble Hill Association strongly urges its members to testify on March 31st and speak out against housing in Brooklyn Bridge park. Though developers try to convince the community that five additional buildings are the only solution to finance the park, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund and many other sensible community advocates know this s not true. Bigger revenue opportunities include selling the Jehovah Witness properties immediately adjacent to the park, as well as creating an Atlantic Ferry Landing concept that would serve as an entertainment and recreational draw on Pier 6. Or perhaps most sensibly, eliminating the duplicative entity AND conservancy with mind-bogglingly inflated budgets and simply fold it into a properly funded NYC parks department scheme?

Please take just 1 hour to attend the hearing on Thursday, March 31st at 5:30 PM and TESTIFY

that we don't want nor do we need more private housing inside this park.

BK Bridge Park CAC meeting

Tuesday, January 11th @ 6pm is the 2nd meeting of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Community Advisory Council.

Why is such a meeting important?....because this CAC is made of local politicians and community reps working in conjunction with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp. The Brooklyn Bridge Development Corp itself will be deciding a crucial issue for our neighborhood - will there be additional housing in our local park?

The Cobble Hill Association stands firmly by the opinion... NO! We want NO additional housing built in the Park and urge the committee to consider any of the many other revenue raising ideas such as potential revenues from the sale of the Watchtower buildings, more concessions, including food and fine dining, and fee-based recreational facilities. A park with housing is simply someone's nice backyard. We want to see a park that is the equal and open backyard for ALL of Brooklyn.

Bk Bridge Park CAC Meeting
1-11-11 @ 6pm
St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights
The meeting is open to the public.

Please attend and voice opinions if allowed.

Three Quick Links

Reminder... tomorrow is Cobble Hill Caroling at Christ Church.

Monday... is a public meeting on housing at BK Bridge Park. The public is invited, though no testimony will be taken.

And unfortunately, from here on out it seems one of Cobble Hill's most unique treasures will be closed off - the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel. The Cobble Hill Association enjoys the Tunnel's history and looks forward to a day when it is re-opened.

Cobble Hill Speaks out AGAINST Housing

This NY1 news report gave less than a minute to a project the neighborhood's been working on for over 20 years. Despite the brevity, they've got the point. Cobble Hill Association is firmly AGAINST plans to include housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
http://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/top_stories/129844/brooklyn-bridge-park-condo-plan-draws-fire

For more background see the CHA blog's previous post here, or check out coverage from our A Walk in the Park, or our friends at Pardon me for Asking in their post with video of several speeches "Public Park Or Private Enclave? Last Night's Public Hearing On Alternatives To Housing In Brooklyn Bridge Park"

Park YES! Housing NO!

For over 25 years, the Cobble Hill Association has worked to secure a park along the waterfront. We are pleased that residents are finally able to access the waterfront at Brooklyn Bridge Park, but our job as a community is not over.

The city is still planning to build 5 more luxury condo & hotel towers inside the park’s borders, with two buildings at 20 and 30 stories high planned for Pier 6 at Atlantic Avenue. And despite what some may think, these luxury high-rise towers are not needed to fund the park’s maintenance. There are many solutions to “pay” for park maintenance. When condos came into the park all year round recreation came out. Landscaping replaced the two pools, the indoor recreation center and ice rink that the community had worked so hard for decades to get. Landscaping sells condos while baseball fields do not.

We now have a unique opportunity to regain the recreational facilities our children need at the same time tell the city planners that we do not want more housing inside the park’s borders. Residents are asked to come to two public comment meetings on Tuesday, November 30th at 6 PM at Long Island College Hospital and again on Thursday, December 9th at 6 PM at St. Francis College on Montague Street.

These public meetings are critical to demonstrating yet again the importance of our parks, the real value they provide to the livability of the city, and to the actual dollars they “put back” into city coffers. The rise in DUMBO values since their part of the park opened is evidence enough of a park’s tax value. A recent proposal offered by community members – to negotiate a deal with the Jehovah Witnesses to develop their soon-to-be-abandoned buildings close to the park, for the benefit of park financing – is gaining traction. Other park funding models, including Senator Squadron’s park increment recapture proposal (named the PIRC plan) also offer relief from the draconian condos inside park borders plan.

But you need only come out and say no to housing, and yes to recreation! Please make sure that your voice is heard at the two public hearings:

Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 6pm – 8pm
Long Island College Hospital, 339 Hicks Street
Avram Conference Center, 1st floor

Thursday, December 9, 2010, 6pm – 8pm
St. Francis College*, 180 Remsen Street
Founders Hall Auditorium, 1st floor

Brooklyn Bridge Park: Alternatives to Housing Meeting

This Wednesday, the Cobble Hill Association urges its residents to attend a public meeting of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation Committee on Alternatives to Housing.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at approximately 11:00 a.m.
City Hall, Blue RoomNew York, New York 10007
http://www.brooklynbridgeparknyc.org/about-us/public-meetings

As the CHA has argued before, we are staunch advocates of non-privatizing ways to fund park maintenance. When 1250 units of luxury condos in 6 buildings were proposed, all recreation came out of the plan, replaced by costly landscaping to help sell condos. And while the landscaping is still a costly burden of the park's current design, we have secured the commitment to look at alternate means to fund this park without more housing inside its borders. Senator Squadron and Assemblywoman Millman will also have veto power over future housing, if it again rears its head in 2011 or in 2013 (milestone dates for funding decisions).

This meeting is yet another opportunity for the public to come out and speak out on their desire for a park, a true park... one that does not include private housing within it. The CHA prefers year round recreational facilities such as a pool, ice rink and indoor field house which could offset costs the City  cannot burden.

State Senator Squadron has been extremely helpful bringing our desires to the Governor and to the Mayor and brought in another strong supporter in Assemblywoman Millman. Councilmen Lander and Levin have also played a positive role and now we hope you, the Cobble Hill residents and neighbors of the Brooklyn Bridge park, now is another opportunity for you to speak out against housing in a public park.

If you cannot attend, we encourage you to call or email comments to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation:
Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation
tel: (718) 222-9939
brooklynbridgepark@bbpnyc.org

UPDATE: the Brooklyn Daily Eagle filed a report on the committee's decision to offer a Request For Proposals (RFP) for profit generating ideas that could potentially be pursued instead of housing.  To read it in full... click here http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=31&id=38247