Locals sound off on Industry City
Controversial rezoning plan debated at 11-hour Council hearing
BY ROSE ADAMS
Hundreds of locals clashed
at an 11-hour City Council
hearing about the controversial
rezoning of the Sunset
Park complex on Tuesday —
with proponents arguing that
the development will bring
needed jobs, and critics calling
for increased transparency
about the project.
“My colleagues are asking
questions that you can’t answer,”
local Councilman Carlos
Menchaca told Industry City
executive Andrew Kimball at
the virtual hearing. “My colleagues
are asking for things
that they want to see as well,
but it is the community that
will hold you accountable.”
The Sept. 15 Council hearing
comes less than two
months before the Council
votes on the application, effectively
ending the land use approval
procedure, known as
ULURP.
If passed, the rezoning
would allow developers to embark
on a 12-year, $1 billion
renovation of the sprawling,
35-acre campus that would
add retail and academic space.
The proposal, fi rst made public
COURIER L 6 IFE, SEPT. 18-24, 2020
in 2015, is the largest private
rezoning application in
New York City history.
Kimball opened Tuesday’s
hearing by emphasizing the
thousands of jobs and the
many benefi ts developers have
promised to the community,
such as the creation of a local
technical high school, a reduction
in retail space, and the
promise that many jobs will
go to Sunset Park residents.
But Menchaca charged that
there is no binding framework
to ensure Industry City’s owners
see those promises through.
“Promises by major developers
are broken every day,”
he said. “With two months to
go, there is no way to reach a
level of accountability that my
community demands and deserves.”
Menchaca vowed to vote
down the rezoning in July after
locals and Industry City
leaders failed to fi nalize a
legally-binding community
benefi ts agreement and the
mayor never promised funding
for the community — two
of Menchaca’s conditions for
approving the plan.
Despite the Council’s tradition
of member deference on
land use votes, three councilmen
have voiced their support
for the development, including
Councilman Robert Corgengy,
who told Gothamist 10 Council
members signed a pro-Industry
City letter. Three members,
including Menchaca, have publicly
announced their opposition
to the plan. The application
needs 26 votes to pass.
More than 200 people
signed up to testify to at Tuesday’s
hearing, including Industry
City tenants who reaffi
rmed their support for the
developers’ vision.
“I truly believe we could
not have sustained our business
in New York City if not
for our residence in Industry
City,” said Jennifer Dundas,
the founder of the ice cream
company Blue Marble, which
has operated a warehouse and
production space since 2011.
Critics echoed Menchaca’s
concern that the developers
won’t be held accountable for
the promised community benefi
ts, and said that the redevelopment
will draw glitzy corporations
that will drive up rents.
A small group of activists
expressed their opposition
to the rezoning proposal at a
rally on Tuesday morning.
“This plan is not a plan
that will benefi t our community,”
said Sunset Park local
Antoinette Martinez.
Another speaker lamented
that many Sunset Park residents
wouldn’t be able to testify
at the hearing, since people
who signed up were not
given times slots, meaning
they would have to sit through
more than nine hours of hearing
on a weekday to wait for
their turn to speak.
“I don’t call that public, I
don’t call that accessible,” said
Elena Schwolsky, a Sunset
Park homeowner..
Community members gathered in D’Emic Playground in Sunset Park on
Sept. 15 to denounce the rezoning application. Photo by Paul Frangipane.
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