Brad Lander Comes Out Against Cobble Hill Rezoning for LICH Development
On Wednesday, City Council Member Brad Lander officially announced he will not support the controversial rezoning of the former Long Island College Hospital site in Cobble Hill — contrary to the position of Mayor Bill de Blasio. Learn what this means for the proposed development. The plan to redevelop the LICH site has been fraught from the…
On Wednesday, City Council Member Brad Lander officially announced he will not support the controversial rezoning of the former Long Island College Hospital site in Cobble Hill — contrary to the position of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Learn what this means for the proposed development.
The plan to redevelop the LICH site has been fraught from the beginning. Back in 2013, when the State University of New York first tried to sell the multi-block site, they kicked off a lengthy public bid process punctuated by lawsuits. It wasn’t until September that developer Fortis Property Group finally inked the $240,000,000 agreement.
In October, the developer revealed two potential plans for the site: an as-of-right option that now includes a 35-story condo tower and possible mega-dorm; and another with a 37-story condo building, school, and affordable housing that would need to go before the city’s uniform land-use review process (ULURP).
A diagram showing the as-of-right plan, via Fortis
Brad Lander, Councilman of District 39 (including Cobble Hill), attended a Cobble Hill Association meeting Tuesday night where he announced his position against a rezoning, reported Politico.
Although Lander isn’t a fan of either of Fortis’ development plans, he said that the community doesn’t want more residential development, even if it comes with perks like a school or affordable housing, Politico said.
The councilman conducted a survey of 427 community residents and found that the majority opposed rezoning the area. Fortis has conducted their own survey, and reported the opposite — that most Cobble Hill residents are in favor of the rezoning option.
So what does Lander’s opposition mean for Fortis?
Even if Lander turns the City Council against a rezoning, the developer can still build the as-of-right plan without city approval. They’ll just make less money. Towers will go up next to the Cobble Hill historic district, but there will be fewer new residents.
Given the lengthy timeline these projects require, the current as-of-right plan will likely see further changes before any construction begins.
Lander and de Blasio campaigned against the closing of the Long Island College Hospital and the sale of the site. De Blasio’s administration has since come out in support of the rezoning plan.
[Source: Politico NYÂ | Top photos: Barbara Eldredge and via Brad Lander]
Related Stories
LICH Developer Fortis Publishes Renderings, Details of Controversial Plans (Updated)
Fortis Officially Buys Long Island College Hospital Site in $240 Million Sale
Embattled Cobble Hill Association Exec Roy Sloane Steps Down Amid Controversy
Let’s be clear about the so-called Fortis community “survey.” Reports are that it was conducted by Hilltop Public Solutions, a political public relations firm operated by former top-level campaign organizers for Mayor de Blasio, and paid for by Fortis. The survey asks individuals whether they are in favor of “more schools,” “affordable housing,” and “new playgrounds” in the area, but make no mention of the skyscrapers and significant density that Fortis wants to add to the neighborhood. They are also asking for signatures using the same disinformation on Facebook. All you have to do is walk around Cobble Hill to see the “No Towers in Cobble Hill” posters in the majority of residences to see the community is very much against the current Fortis plan. Kudos to Lander for listening to his constituency. Frankly, if this was being proposed around de Blasio’s neighborhood in Park Slope, it wouldn’t have seen the light of day. If Fortis wants to get serious about building a reasonable plan that brings some additional density but is contextual with the urban landscape of Cobble Hill, the community would be open to it.
Completely agree with eastofcourt. You have no clue what you’re talking about and you fail to comprehend the community’s reaction to the Fortis plan. The community–myself among it–is open to more density and bringing a new and diverse population to Cobble Hill. But it has to be contextual and make sense within the broader urban design. A 40-story skyscraper does not make sense next to a historical community of townhouses. Based on your website, you don’t even live in New York, you live in Paris–a city that has shunned skyscrapers and more density because it would be incoherent with the historic Paris that so many love. After reading your website, it looks more and more like you are a surrogate of Fortis, which would make sense given your comments here and elsewhere.
Really? Really? Your comments are all over real-estate blogs urging any and all developers to “roll up their sleeves and get to work.” Your website is a bunch of overblown rhetoric with dubious credentials and your wikipedia page is a joke. I doubt you have set foot in Cobble Hill and your comments betray your own pathologies. What’s your tag line? “I architect ideas that change the world.” Talk about delusional.
There are plenty of ways to live in Cobble Hill and the adjacent neighborhoods— unless you absolutely must have a luxury skybox looming 35 stories over the low-rise buildings and quiet streets that make people want to live in Cobble Hill in the first place. And if you need a luxury apartment, you belong in Manhattan— not Brooklyn. I know that hurts YOUR self-image— but stop trying to force my community to boost Fortis’s obcene profit margins and we’ll talk.
I rent and I care very much about this issue. I’ve rented in Cobble Hill, Boreum Hill, and Carroll Gardens and I am deeply invested in this community. And as communities all through out Brooklyn are learning the hard way, developers promise the moon and rarely deliver. And further, if a new school is needed, South Brooklyn shouldn’t have to sacrifice its very character to get it. What is the DOE for? Building a multi-building high rise complex with a tower that is just a few feet a short of being a skyscraper will transform not only Cobble Hill, but all of South Brooklyn. If schools, affordable housing and senior housing are important to you, get involved civically and make it happen. Don’t just hand such a complicated urban planning issue over to a real estate developer to fix it for you. In fact, if you are unsure how to become an activist for your community, attend the next CHA meeting. You’ll see that your stereotyping of the opponents of Fortis’s high rises are from all walks of life and many have been long-time volunteers for the neighorbood. I myself raised funds to make sure there was clean sand in Cobble Hill park and summer music concerts. What have you done for your community?!
I was at the Cobble Hill Association meeting at PS29–there was near unanimity to reject both proposals and let Fortis build the as-of-right plan instead of the ULURP if it comes to that. I take your point that shifting towers west under the ULURP plan is more attractive from an urban planning perspective. But the community’s primary concern is one of density. The ULURP plans provides for significantly more density (i.e., profit to Fortis) that many feel will overwhelm local resources. That Fortis appears to be making the as-of-right plan deliberately unattractive to the community (i.e., building towers as far east as possible, adding a dormitory at the last minute, not offering to build a school despite the need for one, etc.), makes the community feel like the “choice” offered by Fortis was done in bad faith.
I don’t think the majority of people living in neighborhood would like that only people buying $5M houses move into neighborhood. majority of people are renters.