BY KIRSTYN BRENDLEN
Developer Two Trees was
back before Community Board
1 on Sept. 1 to present their
proposed pair of massive waterfront
towers, which fi nally
ended the city’s arduous rezoning
process last month.
The building company is
hoping to bring two mixed-use
high rises, along with a large
public park, to the Williamsburg
waterfront.
The developer has been
meeting with neighbors since
summer 2019, including bringing
the proposal to CB1 twice in
early 2020 — but now the real effort
begins, as they’ve had their
rezoning application certifi ed
by the City Planning Commission
last month.
Hundreds of people — including
the Democratic nominee
for borough president, Antonio
Reynoso, and the area’s
likely next councilmember,
Lincoln Restler — gathered in
an auditorium at MS 126 for the
board’s fi rst in-person meeting
in over a year.
Outside the school, as the
remnants of Hurricane Ida
started to pour rain onto the
borough, more than 50 members
of the New York City & Vicinity
Council of Carpenters
waited to head inside, wearing
brightly colored union T-shirts
and holding signs reading
“JOBS JOBS JOBS,” and “Stop
the cycle of poverty!”
The group hopes Community
Board 1 will tack on some
conditions to the project, if they
approve the proposal, which
would foster career development
for locals.
“We’d be hypocritical to say
we’re against development,”
union representative Rubén
Cólon told Brooklyn Paper.
“But what we are for is responsible
development, so we’re hoping
the community board will
attach some conditions so that
the developer provides careers
versus jobs.”
The public park Two Trees
is planning for the waterfront
would feature new nature paths
built out into the water, including
an outdoor classroom, a
bird hide, and a play area. The
COURIER LIFE, S 24 EPTEMBER 10-16, 2021
developer has emphasized the
importance of climate resiliency
in the design, planning to
include a salt marsh and tidal
pools to create calm habitats
for native wildlife, and oyster
cages.
Karen Imas, vice president
of programs for the Waterfront
Alliance, said the organization
supports the project and its focus
on climate, and said the
project is currently in the process
of obtaining “Waterfront
Edge Design Guidelines” certifi
cation provided by the alliance.
“Domino Sugar is currently
WEDG verifi ed,” Imas said.
“River Ring’s concept plan has
already gotten approval in the
preliminary WEDG review.
River Ring will meet or exceed
the requirements in a number
of key aspects – climate resilience,
public access, sustainability,
and innovation.”
Affordable housing quickly
became the focus of the meeting
as Two Trees opened up for
questions from the board and
testimony from the community.
A rendering of a proposed outdoor play area at River Ring, one of several
publicly-accessible outdoor areas at the waterfront site. Two Trees
River Ring is slated to include
1,050 apartments across the two
buildings, including 263 affordable
units. Most of those units
would be available at 60 percent
of area median income — just
over $71,000 for a family of four.
Rob Solano, a longtime
member of CB1 and co-founder
of Churches United for Fair
Housing, cited high rents in
other Two Trees buildings in
the area, focusing on One South
First, a recently-completed
high rise at Domino Park. According
to StreetEasy, market
rate two-bedroom apartments
in the building rent for as much
as $10,000 per month, with studios
averaging $3,000.
“What would you say is the
percentage of the population
who can afford your market
rate apartments in Brooklyn?”
Solano asked.
“The market-rate rents that
are achievable in neighborhoods
like the Williamsburg
waterfront make it possible
to build integrated affordable
housing and high-quality park
spaces like what we’ve proposed
for River Ring,” said David
Lombino, a Two Trees representative.
“We have been
working with this community
for more than two years to maximize
these benefi ts at River
Ring and will continue to do so
throughout this process.”
2 cheers for 2 trees?
Proposed W’burg towers get mixed reviews