Councilman David Yassky was one of the many people who opposed Two Trees Management’s 2004 proposal for its Dock Street site in Dumbo on the grounds that it cramped the Brooklyn Bridge’s style. Well, as previously reported, it’s 2007 and Two Trees is in the middle of a p.r. campaign trying to sell its kinder, gentler plan for the Dock Street project but Yassky’s still not buying. On Sunday, The Times ran a letter from him urging residents not to let the developer’s promises to build a much-needed middle school into the mixed-use site sway them. Why? He was already addressing the school issue himself. “I have spoken with the Department of Education, and am forming a task force comprising neighborhood residents and P.S. 8 parents to evaluate the qualities the middle school should have,” he wrote. “Based on that evaluation, we will consider available locations and create an appropriate middle school for the area. In an email forward to the blog DumboNYC, the councilman boiled down his position on the project to a single sentence: “My position was and remains that a building at a location this close to the Brooklyn Bridge should be no taller than 8 stories or 80 feet.” Never one to take a little political opposition lying down, Dumbo’s largest land owner retaliated yesterday with a flyer it distributed around the neighborhood providing residents with a ready-made petition. “Dear Council Member Yassky,” the petition begins. “The families of DUMBO, Vinegar Hill and Brooklyn Heights need a new middle school in our area. Please support te Dock Street DUMBO project that will create environmentally sensitive and affordable housing, additional shopping opportunities and parking in our community.”
Two Trees Plans Mixed Use Building Next to Bridge [Brownstoner] GMAP
DumboNYC Guest Post: Dock Street Building Plans [Brownstoner]
Dock Street Dumbo Building Opposed by Yassky [DumboNYC]