Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle
Opponents of the controversial plan to develop the 31-acre area of East Williamsburg called the Broadway Triangle sued the city yesterday in Supreme Court, charging racial and religious discrimination as well as failure to comply with due process. The coalition of 40 North Brooklyn community groups alleges that the plan for 1,895 new units of…
Opponents of the controversial plan to develop the 31-acre area of East Williamsburg called the Broadway Triangle sued the city yesterday in Supreme Court, charging racial and religious discrimination as well as failure to comply with due process. The coalition of 40 North Brooklyn community groups alleges that the plan for 1,895 new units of housing favor the Hasidic community by including a disproportionate number of three- and four-bedroom apartments to house larger Jewish families and by capping building height at eight stories, since Jews can’t take the elevator on the Sabbath. The suit points out that nearly half of the public housing in the area is currently occupied by Hasidic Jews, despite federal court orders requiring the end of discriminatory practices and despite the fact that the waiting list for such housing has remained at over 90 percent Latino and African American for more than 30 years. It also claims that the Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council and the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg received exclusive development rights in a no-bid process through their connections to Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D-Williamsburg), and that the city failed to submit its plans for review by Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Community Board 3, as required by land use regulations. Addressing some of these claims back in July, Councilman David Yassky (D-Williamsburg) said, “I want more housing, but I don’t want skyscrapers in the middle of Brooklyn … I can’t imagine that there are real grounds for a lawsuit.” GMAP
Racial and Religious Discrimination Alleged in Triangle [NY Daily News]
City Sued over Triangle Rezoning [Brooklyn Paper]
Triangle Debate Goes On over Eminent Domain [Brownstoner]
The Voice Calls Out Lopez [Brownstoner]
Markowitz Endorses Lopez’s Triangle Plan [Brownstoner]
The Hasidics are treating the North side of Bedford Stuyveasnt like the West Bank. Building at any cost without restrictions. They are still on pace to complete their goal, unite the Jewish communitty from Williamsburg to Brighton Beach.
Hitler should had finished the job!
Minard if they did not build housing that would allow for Hasidic families by making the apartments too small would that not be discriminatory practice?
Acting as a political bloc has always been a huge issue in the Black and Hispanic communities. It is only recently that their political clout has been recognized. I say good for them.
The hasidic community’s clout comes from both block voting and political contributions. There are more Hispanics in Brooklyn than Hasidim and yet Hispanic groups have nowhere near the same political clout.
In terms of the suit, most black and hispanics families tend not to be that large in NY so the question of whether the proposed apartment sizes really matches a diverse demographic is a valid question.
“A large amount of brooklyn Hasidics are below the federal poverty line”
What’s the federal poverty line though for a family of 8?
“is there one single person in New York city with any kind of morals????”
Derek Jeter.
A large amount of brooklyn Hasidics are below the federal poverty line. You can have political clout by voting as a single block, you don’t necessarily need to be that well-funded.
I see Wine Lover is off meds
Woah – Benson/Bxgrl – I think you guys just agreed on something *group hug*
I think after the discussion, it’s worth repeating my original post (with spelling corrections!):
“Such are the fruits of NYC’s political system that still thrives on a toxic combination of overweaning government and a racial/ethnic spoils system.”