By Rachel Holliday Smith DNA Info
The City Planning Commission on Monday approved a plan to repurpose the Bedford-Union Armory over community protests and concerns about the controversial redevelopment project.
The CPC voted 11 to 1 to give the 540,000-square-foot development a green light as protesters attempted to interrupt the commission’s hearing in Manhattan on Monday afternoon.
The plan still needs approval from the City Council and mayor before it’s finalized.
Dozens of people opposed to the project chanted throughout the start of the hearing, forcing security staff to move them outside. Two demonstrators were arrested in the process. Jabari Brisport, the Green Party candidate for City Council, and Crown Heights Tenant Union founding member Joel Feingold were led away in handcuffs and issued civil summonses, they told DNAinfo New York.
So far, both the Crown Heights community board and the Brooklyn borough president have rejected the plan as part of ULURP.
The area’s councilmember, Laurie Cumbo, has come out publicly against the plan as it currently stands, taking particular issue with the plan to build condominiums on the site.
“As we move to transform the historic Bedford Union Armory into a world-class recreation center and much-needed housing, we will continue to work with Council Member Cumbo and other stakeholders to ensure this project serves the Crown Heights community,” Anthony Hogrebe, NYCEDC Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, said Monday after the vote.
But the city has concluded the development will not make gentrification worse in the neighborhood. In an official environmental review of the project, the city found the repurposed armory would have no significant impact on displacing residents, higher rent prices, or the “neighborhood character” of Crown Heights.
Read full article at DNA Info.
# 29 is right chassidic people are helping out with diffrent projects in our neighborhood. Please don’t blame
stop blaming others and categorizing as it simply is un
Healthy and not responsible. the rebbe teaches us to adhere to the fundamentals of Ahavas Yisroel lets be respectful to each other In my humble opinion.
AHHH!!! THE CHABAD HATING SATMARS (ALL 60,000 OF THEM) ARE TAKING US OVER!
cmon…all you guys sound like what so many non lubavitchers think you sound…”the satmar…” give me a break. who ever expresses himself like that is just a paranoid, narrow-minded hater. As if all satmars are involved…
How would you react if some chabad nicks would do something like this, and people would say “oohhhh…the chabadskers are at it again…”?
How dare the satmars build homes for people and then charge them money to live in those homes. So many yungerleit are looking for apartments, we have to make sure there are fewer residential buildings in Crown Heights. The community council should try to stop all new development and if possible destroy all new buildings built in the past 10 years, then there will be no housing shortage anymore.
I’ve been looking for an apartment for ages, if only there were fewer buildings. Everyone knows the less housing is available the cheaper it costs.
a gentrified neighborhood. As it became less ‘gentrified’ it became more Chasidisher. Is it possible this is now a trend in reverse?
Supply and demand!
Yes so it will take an hour to drive to grand army plaza
for Crown Heights yungerleit, then we are not a growing community anymore, but possibly the opposite cv’h. I understand there are many more young families and individuals that can’t afford the gentrification trend. So they may be squeezed out and replaced with yuppies. Oh so wonderful, LOL!
Present Lubavitcher=Always looking for who to blame
Supply and demand!
In a perfect world you would have a good point. The sad fact is that if the condos were affordable, the Jews would not have much access. It would be called discriminatory for the landlord to let more than a few Jews move in, and instead of having wealthy people there, you would have the drugs and crime element. So either way, I don’t think it would do much good for the average person in our community looking for an apartment.
Less violence, less burglary, less road rage. Less hostile, petty and rude encounters on your evening walk.
to make sure Chassidim had homes and a livelihood. That’s true Chasidisher, Yiddisher leadership. What we have now looks like it’s every man for himself. I can’t imagine what we will end up with here. Where have we fallen to??
Kol hakavod to you !!! The one has vision !!! Who will teach our chikdren in five years from now if yungeleit need to move out and brokers encourage landlords to break contracts because hey , I can get 900 thousand by Rutland? The last frontier of east flattis also being destroyed by greedy flippers !!!!shimshon stock knew these flippers are like a sicknesss
It’s too high for the middle class. It’s very sad that they want us to think it won’t push ppl out.
As the former long time Chairman of CB-9 (34) years until Boro President Adams refused to reappoint me , I engaged with Jewish Developers to submit proposals for this project , one was a finalist among the five and was rejected and the current selected . SATMAR chasidim were never in the mix . There are Chasiddehe/ frum developers roaming around our neighborhood to see where they can find property to develop and DESTROY our Shchunah . Just look what has been announced over the vlast few days with the Golobeck Spice factory site . 1.5 Million square feet of… Read more »
I understood from comments that these condos will belong to Satmars?
What is the problem that everyone here complaints?
Jealousy?
Chabadniks couldn’t do it…
Please someone explain..
Does it have to be unaffordable for financially struggling families and individuals? I understand they can’t afford to leave the huge property vacant anymore but why does it have to be made for yuppies to move here? Why can’t it provide for those already here, but living in inadequate housing circumstances?
BS”D
you know the Mayor was smeared
with separate hours for men/women please
I don’t expect the average Crown Heights’er to understand the laws of economics, but understand this: MORE housing is better.
You see, there is this thing called “supply and demand” that drives market value. When there is more demand and less supply, housing goes UP. More supply (more housing) is always BETTER, not worse.
If you are concerned about the ruchnius, well, pick your choice. Muggings and shootings vs hipster culture. I will take hipster culture, because at least I can teach my children not to be that way. I can’t protect my children from muggings and shootings.
There were few articles saying in brownstoner.com that the initial project came from satmars . What difference is it anyhow
SAd that we let these people think that this will not change the demographics and landscape of our community. we are fools to sit silent ! And what about the satmars that stand in block of family dollar building a huge building a block from Bais rivka where our treachers can live???? That plot was sitting and we did not band together to help ourselves
The crow heights community council is incognito yet again, where are our (unelected) reps? Is this not they’re jobs? And if not, can someone please clarify once and for all l, what is it that they do ?!
Yes, Satmar has rented the armory in the past for their events. But what do BFC Partners (founded in 1985 by Donald Capoccia, Joseph Ferrara, and Brandon Baron) who are behind this project have to do with Satmar?
I’m wondering if this huge project would be approved in Williamsburg? Probably not unless the Jews benefited somehow BUT here we let the satmars do what they want ! This from some guys in Williamsburg. Friends, it’s only getting worse because we are silent !!!!!!
It’s too high for the middle class. It’s very sad that they want us to think it won’t push ppl out.
More housing eases supply and demand tensions. This helps our community because less people will be fighting for the same house in CH.
once again we let the satmars think they are doing us good and will in reality raise our rents in this area now because of this transformation in our neighborhood
This will not benefit the middle class.
And the satmars have won again … piece by piece in destruction . Explain how this will NOT speed up gentrification???? Meanwhile our yungeleit and young couples are forced to buy houses in sutter and other bad neighborhoods