The Broadway Triangle, Now Playing
The underdogs: Legal activist Marty Needelman, City Council member Diana Reyna, and El Puente organizer Luis Garden Acosta. — Photo by Aaron Short
It may not be as inspiring as Fela! or as tear-jerking as Billy Elliot, but there will be high drama on December 2 in City Hall. Postponed from Monday afternoon, Council members will likely cast their final vote on the Broadway Triangle, the 31-acre South Williamsburg development project that has pulled half of North Brooklyn into its turbulent vortex. While others may argue about the process and timeline of events (and the timeline of who attended which planning meeting and why is among the more contentious issues), we at BushwickBK felt it was better to bring you up to speed on what has been going on. Curtain up!
UPDATE: The vote has been postponed again, possibly until Thursday.
The Plot:
Since 2005, nonprofit directors, city officials, religious leaders and politicians have clashed over the city’s planned rezoning of the Broadway Triangle, which could set the stage for several residential buildings to be erected on the industrial patch of lots next to Woodhull Hospital. After earning a brownfields opportunity grant for the remediation of several properties in the Broadway Triangle, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council (RBSCC) and United Jewish Organizations (UJO) met with city officials from the Department of Housing and other agencies in 2007 to outline how the site would be developed for residential use. A proposal soon followed, based on an initial planning workshop conducted by Columbia University graduate students, which included 1851 units of housing, 905 of which are designated “affordable.”
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Over the next two years, the rezoning action slowly proceeded through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) including the Environmental Impact Statement for the site, the Community Board, the Borough President, and the City Planning Commission before arriving at the doorstep of City Hall.
Meanwhile, forty community organizations, including Williamsburg housing organizations such as Los Sures and St. Nicholas NPC, heard about the meeting and criticized the city for excluding them. They called themselves the Broadway Triangle Community Coalition, and they have sought to oppose the ULURP process every step of the way, from disrupting meetings, raising awareness about eminent domain issues, and filing lawsuits, to putting forward their own plan complete with Pratt Institute graduate students and campaigning hard for Diana Reyna.
The fight that has pitted Latinos, Orthodox Jews, city planners, nonprofit leaders, and Council members against each other has gotten a lot of attention. The New York Times even weighed in on Reyna’s Council race earlier this month and its effect on the project, and is following the Triangle story closely. So far it has been a drama wrought with tension, history, religion, politicking… and smoked fish. And on Wednesday afternoon, it will all come crashing down in Council Chambers, like the bits of furniture and livestock in a tornado. According to a couple of Council sources, this vote is a toss-up and was delayed in order to give more time for supporters to lobby for the bill’s passage. Will Diana Reyna and the network of nonprofits that was strong enough to ensure her reelection also block the Triangle proposal? Will the pressure that Council member-elect Steve Levin and Assembly member Vito Lopez employ on city legislators push the plan into the end zone?
The Players (in no particular order):
Angela Battaglia: City Planning Commission member, Housing Director for of the one of the largest private nonprofits in the state, and longtime girlfriend to Vito Lopez, head of the State Assembly’s Housing Committee, Battaglia and the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council have a lot to gain if this plan ends up passing. Though she recused herself from a CPC vote on the topic, Battaglia has maintained a significant behind-the-scenes presence throughout the process, leading the original planning charette two years ago. Expect an appearance Wednesday.
Diana Reyna: Reyna, who won not one but two elections against an opponent backed by the Democratic Party Chair, staked her political reputation on her opposition to the Broadway Triangle. It helped her win the primary, but negotiating among 50 colleagues in a legislative body is a different story. Reyna had the most compelling line of questioning during a subcommittee hearing earlier this month, but will she be able to lobby enough rank-and-file Council members to oppose a project that isn’t even in her district?
David Yassky: Wait a minute! If this project isn’t in Diana’s district, than whose district is it in? Ahhhh right, outgoing Council member David Yassky, the term limits supporter who did not seek a third term, instead choosing to run for Comptroller, has been sucked into the Broadway Triangle seemingly against his will. Yassky has expressed sympathy with those groups excluded from the planning, and his particular admiration for El Puente’s Luis Garden Acosta, but maintains his support for the city’s plan as necessary to add affordable housing in Williamsburg. His vote on the project will be one of his last ones cast as a Council member, as he is set to leave office on December 31.
Al Vann: Every play has an X-factor, an unpredictable yet memorable character. This is where Al Vann, Council member for Bedford-Stuyvesant, fits in. Morgan Freeman-like in his wisdom and serenity, Vann represents much of Community Board 3, which was excluded from the planning process yet still sits within the urban renewal area that is being altered by the city’s rezoning plan. This is a problem. You will be hearing more about this.
Tish James: The other Council member representing parts of Community Board 3 has expressed her opposition to the plan if it continues to contain elements of eminent domain possibilities for local businesses within the urban renewal area. Which it probably will do if it does get passed.
Dan Garodnick: The perky, ever-smiling Upper East Side Council member is shepherding the first round of Broadway Triangle voting as Chair of the Land Use Acquisitions and Dispositions Subcommittee. Garodnick has not stated his position on the plan and is considered by some Triangle opponents as a toss-up vote. He may add modifications before advancing it out of his subcommittee to…
Melinda Katz: …the Land Use Committee, which is chaired by the fierce-but-friendly outgoing Council member representing Forrest Hills and Kew Gardens. Katz, a one-time Comptroller candidate, is a Reyna ally and may be a No vote. This committee is expected to sit on Wednesday and give its recommendations before the Council votes on the bill.
The Understudies:
Steve Levin: The Council member-elect has had a busy fall. After blowing out six other candidates in a competitive primary, Levin has continued meeting community groups and constituents throughout the 33rd District and assembling his own office while helping the transition inside Lopez’s office as the Assemblyman searches for a new Chief of Staff. One additional duty appears to be lobbying council colleagues to support the Broadway Triangle plan and acknowledge the wishes of the incoming Council member. If the vote is close but still in favor of the plan, it will likely be because of Levin’s efforts.
Evelyn Cruz: With Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez in Washington working on the health care reform bill, her constituent liaison Evelyn Cruz has been carrying the fire by representing Velazquez’s position against the plan. Wherever there is a press conference, vote, or demonstration, Evelyn is omnipresent, reminding people of the history and political context of HPD’s planning decisions.
Rob Solano: There are several members of the Broadway Triangle Community Coalition who have distinguished themselves as a voice of opposition to the rezoning and the process by which it was carried out, including BTCC Executive Director Juan Ramos, El Puente’s Luis Garden Acosta, Community Board 1 member Esteban Duran, and Catholic clergymen John Powis and Jim O’Shea. However, it is Churches United for Fair Housing’s Rob Solano who not only articulated the most concise arguments against the plan but helped organize the community groups involved to develop a message, attend hearings, and volunteer on a tough council race. That’s probably why the Village Voice’s Tom Robbins recognized him as an unsung hero.
Marty Needelman: The loud guy in the audience talking on his cell phone that ushers briskly eject; the other wild card, though not necessarily on Wednesday. If the rezoning passes, then the opposition will focus on the lawsuit Needelman filed last month alleging HPD and the Mayor of violating the federal Fair Housing Act. A civil litigator for more than forty years, the Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A attorney was also heralded by Robbins and has had a busy year fighting off his Corporation A’s move to consolidate offices and representing the Broadway Triangle Community Coalition. Marty also has a particular way of getting under an elected official’s skin, as was apparent at the last subcommittee hearing.
The Producers:
Michael Bloomberg: Ultimately, if the Mayor really wants this project passed, he will make some phone calls to wavering Council members. So far, he’s been fairly hands off, refraining from speaking publicly on the matter, but he has emphasized affordable housing projects as a cornerstone of his platform and the Broadway Triangle is part of PlaNYC 2030. Some of the connections between the Mayor’s office and the Broadway Triangle, particularly Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff’s role in the early stages, remain unclear. It’s ok. Theatergoers rarely pay attention to the producers.
Department of Housing and Preservation Development (HPD): The agency that everyone loves to hate has taken heat from a variety of political leaders and community groups at forums in Williamsburg for their role in the planning of the rezoning, but this is their plan and they are sticking with it. Unless there are changes recommended by Council members, in which case the agency will make those changes and re-present their plan in a couple of weeks. Still, HPD staffer Jack Hammer’s mustache is the best in city government.
The Co-writers:
David Niederman: Executive Director of the UJO, David Niederman has seen his power surge in the past year, helping deliver votes to secure Steve Levin’s victory and convincing political leaders throughout Brooklyn to support the Triangle plan. Facing the pressing need of serving a rapidly growing Orthodox Jewish population with few places in Williamsburg to house them, the UJO has the most to gain if the plan passes. Many of the lots within the Triangle will contain 8-story buildings — short enough to walk up on the Sabbath — to house the predominantly Hasidic population that lives nearby, and Niederman has emphasized multiple times in public that the plan should pass strictly for that purpose.
Vito Lopez: He’s really more of a director than a writer. This production has Vito’s fingerprints all over it, from the political horsetrading to the purpose of adding to his substantial legacy of affordable housing in North Brooklyn through the nonprofit that he founded over 30 years ago. Professor Nicole Marwell argued that RBSCC is expanding into Williamsburg because it needs to as a grant-receiving entity and affordable housing provider. We don’t doubt that. Vito likely won’t make a public appearance on Wednesday but he’ll be tuned into what’s happening like an aeronautic engineer in mission control.
I am sincerely amazed how anti-Semitic Rob Solano and his crew have become-feeding fear to Latinos in our community for political gains. Sadly, they are going around motivating Latino Church Parishoners and constituents by telling them the “Jews are taking over the neighborhood!”
If you check your history you will notice that this land has been vacant for over 30 years because Latino leaders and Hasidic leaders have been at war. Now there is an opportunity to work together and the ungratefuls are at it again. Quite frankly, it is sad and dishonest of you, Aaron, to go along with and continue this anti-Semitic rhetoric.
Furthermore, must I remind you that this land is NOT in CB3, hence why CB1, HPD, and the Mayor’s Office all approved it. If we are going to include outside Community Boards, let’s add CB4 to the vote as well, as I am sure some people in Bushwick will be affected by this vote.
In fact, let’s continue adding senseless votes, and meaningless drama and never get the Triangle developed, I am sure that’s what Solano and his crew are seeking. And then 20 years later we still have undeveloped land.
C’mon people! Put the politics aside and lets move forward with a working plan that has been endorsed by anyone and everyone who really matters.
I advise against accusing people of such things by name, and without proof, in a public forum. Remember that websites can be made to give up IP addresses and other user information if subpoenaed, say, in a defamation case.
Aaron is anti-Semitic for reporting the true fact that many of these buildings are specifically designed for use by Hasidic tenants?
The land is not in CB3, but fortunately community boards aren’t separated by DMZs — communities and neighborhoods freely move across and between them, and what happens at Flushing and Broadway does indeed affect CB3 and 4. That is also why Reyna is right to involve herself — it may not be in her district but it is in her COMMUNITY. Only petty career trash work for their gerrymandered slice of Brooklyn while allowing intertwined parts of other districts to go to shit.
That said, fuck the Broadway Triangle plans — all of them. There are viable, working businesses there and I see so compelling reason why they should be forced out in favor of giant ugly welfare slums.
Giant ugly welfare slums? Nice. Have you even looked at the plans? Neither side wants giant ugly welfare slums, and it’s that kind of response that leads both sides to think that some of you hipsters are careless assholes. Look at the plans and get back to us, ok?
You read the first part of my comment and still think I haven’t looked at the plans in great detail? What do you think “affordable” means? It’s a euphemism for subsidized. And given RBSCC’s body of work, they will be completely hideous superblock junk with THANK YOU ASSEMBLYMAN VITO J. LOPEZ nailed in 6-inch-high metal letter to the face.
I am a person who owns a home and has a job. I live in this neighborhood and care about what happens to it and in it and around it. I also think every sound, healthy adult has the ability and responsibility to make their own way in life and so I disagree with the concept of government-subsidized housing. That doesn’t make me “careless,” it makes me a believer in human equality. “Hipster” is a non sequitur label employed by dishonest people to defuse arguments they don’t want to have to use facts in.
Realbushwick,
I am deeply disturb with your comment. This blog is a forum where we have a place to disagree , but always respectfully. I have a relationship with Chaim, Gary , and several others who I consider not only allies from the Jewish Community, I consider them friends. I have always said in the Churches, in public, in private that this is about two organizations against a community. Which has been proven time and time again. We can disagree on the meaning of community and the merits of the broadway triangle rezoning forever. However, to call me anti-semitic is wrong and should be removed from this blog. I have not hid my name like you did “realbushwick”, my name is Rob Solano, I hope you can show your name and we can have discussion about this in person or you can email at rsolano@churchesunitedforfairhousing.com. Again I humbly request that bushwickbk would remove “realbushwick” posting. Thank you.
Someday, we are all going to look back on the Broadway Triangle, laugh nervously and change the subject.
Why is it that people are so blind to see how when Jews develop, for example Wythe and Kent, we the Spanish folks are not able to get one application, but when homes are built in the southside, they flooded the doorsteps of Los Sures? Do you think that is fair? This is not a project to come together for, this is for the Jews and Williamsburg is NOT only theirs!
This is what happens when the government takes over housing responsibilities — the developments become ethnic fiefdoms beset by culture wars. Each group tries to take a piece of territory for “their own kind.” The Broadway Triangle is like the West Bank and for similar reasons. Everything becomes zero-sum, which is why the site is vacant instead of having already been filled with housing — like the rest of North Brooklyn — or more businesses. Who would invest there with the Sword of Damocles that has been dangling over this site for years?
I think it is irresponsible journalism to say that Diana Reyna was re-elected on her opposition to the Triangle. She was an eight year incumbent and won by 200 votes; a pretty pathetic showing. Is the contention that the election was swayed by her opposition to a project not in her district? The election was so close precisely because, as has been clearly displayed here, Ms. Reyna has no regard for her own constituents and would rather grandstand against Assemblyman Lopez to score political points with the Nydia Velasquez’s and Marty Needelman’s of the world. Don’t you think the people of Ms. Reyna’s district would prefer Ms. Reyna to worry about their needs and not the prevention of affordable housing being built in a different district. If Ms. Reyna paid any attention to her own district, after 8 years in office she could have won by more than 200 votes against a relatively unknown opponent.
It may be untrue that Reyna’s reelection had much to do with the BT but isn’t it equally so to state that her goal is to prevent the building of affordable housing when she’s allied with people who want to DOUBLE the official plan’s units?
I found some interesting discussion here
http://www.boropolitics.com/stories/1/14/01_14_34_robo_calls.html?comm=1
Willy B girl from Beloved Willaimsburg says:
I am a Williamsburg born and raised individual and it is sad to see how vito has instilled his fear in alot of people and even in the Catholic Church. Father Jim O’Shea worked hard to unite people for Churches United for Affordable Housing and it was all dismantled when he questioned Vito about backroom deals with the Jews. The apartment units in the Broadway Triangle plan accepted by the Planning Commission will have 3,4, and 5 bedrooms. Those units are not for us the Spanish and Black communities of Williamsburg and Bed-Stuy. They are for the Jews with 8, 9, and 10 kids. We may work and have the income, but we do not have the family composition. The housing developments will have 8 floors because they (the jews) cannot take the elevator on the Sabbath. I wonder how much Vito is making under the table for this deal? This is the last piece of land left that we have to develop on. We are fighting for JUSTICE! But God-willing, the truth will prevail on Tuesday, Nov 3rd, 2009. God is up there watching all you scumbags do evil in a community where we have had real leaders for peace and justice!!!! (Saddest part is some of the scumbags wear collars)
Jew from Williamsburg says:
To God’s spokeswoman:Willy B girl from Beloved Willaimsburg
“The apartment units in the Broadway Triangle plan accepted by the Planning Commission will have 3,4, and 5 bedrooms. Those units are not for us the Spanish and Black communities of Williamsburg and Bed-Stuy. They are for the Jews with 8, 9, and 10 kids”
You are terribly wrong, our average family has two parents and 12-14 kids and therefore we need 6-8 bedroom apartments. 3-4 bedrooms will suit you perfectly, according to HPD rules a family of 4 is eligible for a 3 bedroom and a family of 6 qualifies for a 4 bedroom.
“The housing developments will have 8 floors because they (the jews) cannot take the elevator on the Sabbath.”
My advise to you: take the elevator up and down as many times possible till you are completely shacked up and your mind straighened out
Reyna’s goal is not to build double the housing. She knows (or at least the people that she is being a proxy for know) her plan (again for a development not in her district) is not tenable and thus is just a way to kill the project. This isn’t voting on opposing projects, this is voting on a project that will bring almost 1000 affordable units to the community or voting against building those units.
Wolverine77:
Your naïveté has no bounds.
Hey Aaron Short, what about this article from your employer the NY Post?
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/quinn_hits_home_with_lawmakers_9XiFtU61cbCjj2CvBIhpHJ
Oh, snap.
Leave Shorty alone, he is currently on the injured reserve squad.
I think it is firmly established that the City was willing to work exclusively with Ridgewood-Bushwick and UJO to develop the Broadway Triangle. Transparency is not a priority for our City administration, and they are very comfortable with these powerful organizations.
Expanding his power seems to be Vito Lopez’ main priority. Under another of his hats – Brooklyn’s Democratic leader- Vito is able to make the election-related deals which bought him the go-ahead from Bloomberg and the support of Yassky (whose contributions are played down in this otherwise excellent piece.) Building affordable housing and providing needed services are a mechanism for amassing political power, as he is responsible for the employment, housing and essential services for thousands, and is not shy about reminding everyone of how to demonstrate their gratitude.
Hm, who prints “Bushwick’s ONLY community newspaper” with Vito’s face on the cover above the words “A Living Legend?”
If you feel that Vito Lopez has your best interests at heart, then you might adopt his form of loyalty, and see elected officials who oppose him as doing so only for personal and petty self-interest.
If you enjoy the diversity and independence of Community-Based Organizations and elected officials such as we have in Williamsburg, you might feel quite threatened to have this power-hungry bully position himself to work his manipulative tactics even deeper into your neighborhood. And to see him teaming up with the tremendously powerful and hierarchical UJO to dominate service provision and electoral politics in the area, well you can see why this Broadway Triangle issue is keeping people up at night.
Unfortunately this nasty style of politics is effective, and I doubt the City Council will block this rezoning. It won’t end there. Our local CBO’s will see their funding dry up as Ridgewood Bushwick becomes the recipient of those social services funds, local elected officials will have little choice but to appease this matrix of voting blocks and service provision, and everyone will know when to stand down and when to trade their Land Use votes to Vito if they want to operate in this nasty political theater.
With the ethical bar so low here in North Brooklyn, I can see how mediocre elected officials can claim to be bringing Transparency and Accountability and Change. This kind of nasty politics poisons the well for all of us. It’s way past time to push back.
I am not up on all the details but one clarification: The UJO – United Jewish Organizations only represents the Satmar Hasidic sect. This is a group of ultra-orthodox Jews who live a cloistered existance based on norms of behavior established in Hungary in the 18th Century. They have very little in common with the vast majority of Jews in New York. Using the generic term Jews to describe the Satmars is neither accurate or fair.
Saul: SHUT UP and go work to maintain your 14 kids! Stop taking all the gov’t subsidies available like welfare, section 8, WIC, medicaid and everything you milk our gov’t for to maintain the innocent kids you can’t even afford! Pathetic!
The amount of classicist posting on here is just as disgusting as the racism. I’m glad YOU have a job and enough to take care of yourself. But fuck everyone else?
Mr. Sapienza,
I have in the past posted my name on this site and you have deleted my posts claiming that I should stick to my usual name: realbushwick. (In the past I posted my name, Andrew, my full name is Andrew Castro).
Furthermore, this was not a character assassination, simply just an observation. I am curious to know why is that some people are allowed to trash-talk certain people and not others. I am aware that people like Reyna, Davila, and Lopez are all elected officials. But Community Members like Solano and Duran will also be judged based on their positions and stances because they are working in the public realm. If they can not handle it, than I suggest that they seek another line of work.
Lastly, Rob you may also contact me at realbushwick@gmail.com or at bkzragz2richez@yahoo.com. If you’d like we can have some valuable conversations. But I must admit, I’m not very impressed by you, neither am I convinced that you know what you are talking about.
Best Regards,
Mr. Andrew Castro
God Bless America!