3 BRONX WEEKLY February 16, 2020 www.BXTimes.com
Co-op City’s wind turbine will not go back up: King
(L-r) Noel Ellison, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, and Senator Jamaal Bailey, listen as Councilman Andy King announces the fate of the
wind turbine. Photo by Fernando Justiniano
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BY JASON COHEN
The controversial wind
turbine in Co-op City that
was blown down by gusty
winds at the end of 2019 will
not return.
On Thursday, February
6, Councilman Andy King,
Senator Jamaal Bailey and
Assemblyman Michael
Benedetto held a press conference
at the site, where it
was announced that the turbine
would not be rebuilt.
On Monday, December
30, the turbine collapsed
sending another monopole
on the property crashing
into a parked car.
The structure was
built at 500 Baychester Avenue,
and joined two other
smaller billboards as well
as a 7-Eleven, a TD bank, a
pharmacy and a Sherwin
Williams paint store on the
newly minted mini mall.
A 250-foot monopole supported
the wind turbine.
The controversial monopole
was constructed on a
parcel at Bartow and Baychester
avenues that retained
a C7 zoning from the
early 1960s when the property
was a part of Freedomland,
an amusement park.
“The Co-op City community
will be happier as
I proudly announce that
the owner of the wind turbine
has conceded and will
not be rebuilding it here,”
Councilman King said on
Twitter. “The owner has
also agreed not to reattach
the third sign that faces
into Co-op City resident’s
windows. This is a major
victory for Co-op.”
As part of King’s agreement
with the property
owner the monopole will
remain.
Assemblyman Benedetto
said Councilman King
told him that the structure
would support a light beam
that would project various
colored light straight up for
special ocassions, much like
the Empire State Building.
Senator Bailey told the
Bronx Times he is glad the
owner of the property came
to his senses. The senator is
all for helping the environment
and clean energy, but
this was out of character
with the neighborhood, he
stated.
The turbine was up for
two weeks before it collapsed,
so maybe that was
a sign that it shouldn’t have
been there in the fi rst place,
he said.
“It’s a relief that that this
has taken place,” Bailey
said. “I question the location.
I was frustrated by the
fact that it went up in the
fi rst place without community
discussion. Simply because
you can do something
doesn’t mean you should do
something.”
“I just don’t think that
we should have had a structure
of that nature in a residential
community,” Benedetto
said.
Matt Cruz, district manager
of Community Board 10
stated that while he doesn’t
oppose wind turbines, he
I just don’t
think that we
should have
a structure of
that nature in
a residential
community.
Michael Benedetto
Assemblyman
found the turbine location
inappropriate.
Elected offi cials and CB
10 fi elded hundreds of inquiries
from local residents
questioning its installation.
Cruz, who hadn’t heard
the news that the turbine
would not be returning,
said it was music to his ears.
Putting it in the community
without consulting theresidents
was wrong and a quality
of life issue, he noted.
“This board along with
Councilman King has been
in the trenches trying to put
this issue to bed,” he said.
“We’re happy the property
owner has decided to go forward.
This is a win for Co-op
City as well as a win for the
board here at CB10.”
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