MAKING CONCESSIONS
Industry City executives bow to councilman’s demands ahead of rezoning push
ACCEPTED: Industry City exectuives have bowed to Councilman Carlos Menchaca’s demands as they pursue a rezoning application that would pave
the way for a massive expansion. Industry City
REJECTED: Industry City’s expansion scheme has spawned petitions and portests, and locals rallied earlier
this month (above) to demand Councilman Carlos Menchaca (below) reject any plan to develop the massive
maker complex, Photos by Derrick Watterson
COURIER LIFE, SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2019 3
BY ROSE ADAMS
Executives at Industry City
will bow to a list of demands
set forth by Councilman
Carlos Menchaca to secure
a key vote from the lawmaker
ahead of a controversial
rezoning scheme, bringing
a revised version of the
maker space’s expansion
plan closer to fruition.
“We met with Council Member
Menchaca and his Working
Group this morning,
and once again agreed to
delay certification into the
ULURP process,” said Lisa
Serbaniewicz, a spokeswoman
for Industry City.
“Industry City has agreed
to every request made by
the council member.”
Shot callers at the sprawling
35-acres industrial campus
are looking to rewrite
local zoning regulations to
pave the way for a 12-year, $1
billion redevelopment plan,
which requires a nearly
yearlong public review, during
which it is common for
developers to fund community
benefits in exchange
for the regulatory windfall.
However, instead of bargaining
with Industry City
during the review process,
Menchaca — whose support
is essential to the rezoning’s
success — threatened to kill
the effort if the manufacturing
complex didn’t rewrite
their application to his liking
before submitting it to
the city.
And Industry city agreed
to the councilman’s demands
— which included
eliminating hotels from the
application, reducing the
amount of requested retail
space, and pitching in funds
for a public high school,
among other things — in a
letter Thursday, when Chief
Executive Officer Andrew
Kimball outlined his plan
to submit the application on
Sept. 23.
But the councilman’s dictates
weren’t focused solely
on Industry City — he also
wants Mayor de Blasio to
sign a written contract promising
city funds for the community,
in addition to forming
a community watchdog
group to oversee the agreement
— and Menchaca fired
off a response warning Kimball
to hold off, or else.
“The establishment of a
group who would sign one
end of a community benefits
agreement has yet to be established,
let alone a facilitator
or legal counsel identified.
Any attempt to rush
through a rezoning process
without the community being
fully prepared to hold
Industry City accountable
is something I will never
support,” he said.
Kimball issued a reply
Friday morning to say Industry
City would wait to
submit the application.
The rezoning proposal
has become a hot-button issue
amongst community
members, with supporters
arguing that the rezoning
will bring needed jobs
to the area, while critics
claim the renovations will
hike up rents and displace
residents. During Monday’s
community meeting, the debate
came to a head as community
activists hijacked
the event, shouting “No rezoning!
No conditions!”
which prompted about half
the crowd to exit the auditorium.
Once Menchaca announced
his conditional
support of the rezoning
later that night, community
activists blasted him, claiming
he is “afraid” to stand
up for the community.
“What we need is community
control over the decisions
in our neighborhood,”
wrote the leaders of the community
organization, Protect
Sunset Park, in a statement.
“We can’t plan for our
future in a ‘deal’ that centers
corporate welfare. We
need a courageous Council
Member who isn’t afraid to
stand up to corporate bullies
and who puts the community’s
welfare first.”