Wake Up and (Don't) Smell the Roses

In the wake of yesterday’s approval of the Greenpoint/Williamsburg Rezoning by the key City Council committee, residents are expressing mixed feelings, according to the Daily News. Of particular concern to some is the lack of park space being created; in particular, they want many of the area’s vacant lots to be converted into green spaces. “It’s horrendous,” said Lillian Hnat (pictured), 55, gesturing to a basketball-court sized scar of exposed dirt in a field near Union and Driggs Avenues yesterday. “When I see the parks that other neighborhoods have, it ticks me off.” But it hasn’t been all bad news for park lovers: At the last minute, city officials sweetened the deal by promising to spend $25 million to turn an MTA-owned bus depot and a city sludge treatment facility in Greenpoint into 5 acres of park space. They also committed to cough up $1 million to turn a derelict pool house in McCarren Park into a performance space and $600,000 for lights at a new soccer field. The Parks Department is also considering converting Driggs Ave and Lorimer St. – which run through the park – into parkland.
Housing Deal Gripes Bloom [NY Daily News]