Broadway Triangle Vote Postponed

On Wednesday afternoon the city council subcommittee on planning, dispositions and concessions announced their decision to postpone the voting session on the rezoning of the Broadway Triangle, a highly contested 31-acre plot of land bordering Williamsburg, Bushwick and Bed-Stuy. The vote has now been pushed back to Thursday morning. According to Speaker Christine Quinn’s office, the date for a formal subcommittee vote has not been set; the recessed sessions are only hearings that do not necessarily include a vote. Though, a representative for Councilmember Garodnick, who chairs the subcommittee, confirmed that the hearing was recessed at the request of the Speaker.
Though the reasons for both postponement are murky, members of the Broadway Triangle Community Coalition—a coalition of community groups opposed to the HPD-sanctioned plan for developing affordable housing on the site in favor of a more inclusive plan calling for higher-density developments—gathered on the steps of City Hall, to implore councilmembers to vote no on the rezoning come Thursday. The decision to push back the vote twice was slightly disappointing, and in some cases worrisome, to those hoping for a resolution, members of BTCC viewed the postponement as a distinctly good sign.
“I think this shows, finally, that there is some political pushback against [Assemblyman] Vito [Lopez], the mayor and the forces of evil,” said Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A attorney Marty Needelman, who is representing BTCC in their lawsuit against HPD. “This is definitely a good sign, but the question is, how positive will the outcome be?”
Churches United for Fair Housing Executive Director Rob Solano agreed, explaining that the postponement may yield positive results. In addition, Solano said that by pushing the vote back, committee members may be reconsidering their positions on the matter.
“They are taking a second look now,” Solano said. “I think this means that they are starting to see that the Broadway Triangle isn’t a regular rezoning. They have been saying that it is a bad process but an OK plan. Now, they are starting to realize that it was a bad process and a bad plan.”
HPD’s plan calls for approximately 900 units of affordable housing within the border of the Broadway Triangle, in a series of low-rise buildings. Two organizations—United Jewish Organizations and Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council—have been given the green-light to develop on city-owned property. Though the majority of the Broadway Triangle is industrial, there are several small businesses, in addition to a handful of privately-owned properties, that will be at risk under the current rezoning plan, which will include eminent domain if necessary.
Councilmember Diana Reyna was on hand at the press conference, to express her discontent with the current plan, and explain the danger of passing it through city council.
“This plan isn’t about planning for a community, it’s about pushing through a political deal,” Reyna said. “This is what’s wrong with government—it places politics before planning, places politics before people, places politics before progress. Only two organizations have been allowed to plan—how can we say that this plan has integrity? It hasn’t taken into account an overcrowded elementary school…or corporations like Pfizer that promise jobs. This plan is not about the future of Williamsburg.”
Allegedly, the subcommittee on planning, dispositions and concessions will reconvene on Thursday morning for a hearing on the Broadway Triangle rezoning. The subcommittee must cast their votes before December 9th, at which point the time allotted for a ULURP decision will elapse, and send the proposal directly to the full city council.
While the postponement of the vote can be seen as encouraging, some find it disarming. Though it has never happened before, the subcommittee could potentially continually postpone the vote to run out the clock, and avoid voting on the issue altogether.

“This may mean there is some discussion happening, that there is room for negotiation,” Reyna said, addressing a group in the chambers, right after the hearing was recessed. “This is our opportunity to continue pressing city hall. But, this can happen every day. If we don’t vote now, the plan moves as is. I will clear my schedule every day to make sure I’m here.”