SCOOTERS Homeless fi nd housing at
the William Vale hotel in Williamsburg
— or else!
“It has been brought to
our attention that White Fox
Scooters, Inc. or your agents
have commenced scooter
share operation in the City of
New York. Please be advised
that electric scooters are illegal
in New York City,” wrote
DOT Assistant Commissioner
Michelle Craven in the letter,
obtained by Brooklyn Paper.
“Accordingly, you are hereby
directed immediately to cease
and desist from any such electric
scooter share operations.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo
legalized the electric stand up
scooters as part of the 2021 budget
earlier this month, but the
City Council still has to make
them legal on a city level, according
to DOT offi cials.
A spokesman for DOT did
not immediately say whether
White Fox faces any fi nes or
other penalties for their Kings
County incursion.
When reached for comment,
Saxena was disappointed
that his company’s
venture across the Hudson
was stymied by red tape after
less than 10 days in operation,
saying he thought his company
10 COURIER LIFE, MAY 1–7, 2020
was in the clear by only
allowing the scooters to go
from dock to dock, with all stations
on private property like
hotels and residential buildings
and not on public streets.
“It’s a bummer,” Saxena
said. “It was all confusing on
our end because our legal counsel
said we were good to go.”
The entrepreneur said he
will remove the four scooters
and the dock his company installed
at the luxe hotel on
April 14 but said that he will
work with the authorities to
return as soon as it’s legal.
“We’ll obviously be completely
compliant with them,”
he said.
Saxena also abandoned his
plans to set up a second outpost
at the Union Hotel in Gowanus
this week, but he will try to get
private partners to sign on to
hosting his scooter docks in
the future while he waits for
city lawmakers to ratify Albany’s
legislation.
“We may even sign on some
private partners in the interim,”
he said.
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The City Council voted
unanimously on April 22 to allow
a non-profi t developer to
convert a Downtown Brooklyn
tower previously owned
by the Jehovah’s Witnesses
into housing for the formerly
homeless.
The Council’s approval of
the tower’s rezoning paves
the way for a renovation that
would add more than 500 affordable
apartment units to
the 29-story tower at 90 Sands
St, said the developer.
“We’re on our way to bringing
approximately 500 muchneeded
affordable units to
DUMBO, one of the most expensive
neighborhoods in the
borough,” said Brenda Rosen,
the chief executive of Breaking
Ground.
The Council’s vote is the
last step in the land use review
process before the rezoning
application moves to
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is
expected to back the Council’s
approval.
Breaking Ground plans to
add 305 “supportive units” for
recently homeless people and
202 below-market-rate rentals.
The “supportive units”
will come equipped with social
services to help residents
fi nd jobs, treat their medical
needs, and transition into the
housing, while the 202 other
units will be open to households
that make 30-100 percent
of the area’s median income,
which is currently set at
$96,100 for a family of three.
The 202 affordable units
will range from $504 for a
studio to $2,000 for a one-bedroom.
Breaking Ground bought
the tower from Big Apple developer
RFR Realty for $170
million in August 2018.
ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE: City transit gurus sent White Fox Scooters a
cease and desist letter on April 23. White Fox Scooters
The Jehovah’s Witnesses tower in
Downtown Brooklyn. File Photo
Continued from page 1
Jehovah’s Witness tower
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