GREENPOINT – THE CITY COUNCIL on Thursday officially voted to approve a rezoning application for the long-delayed Monitor Point project set for the Greenpoint waterfront, reports the Commercial Observer. The vote follows a contentious planning process that saw developer Gotham Organization increase the share of affordable housing in the complex multiple times, ending up with 50% affordability in order to win the support of area Councilmember Lincoln Restler.
The project will include two towers erected on the site of a current MTA facility, which will be relocated. The towers will host 1,324 apartments and a museum for the U.S.S. Monitor, and will contribute funding towards nearby Bushwick Inlet Park.
Monitor Point had divided the local community, with supporters saying the area sorely needs housing, that the MTA needs the money from the land lease and that the construction would bring union jobs, while opponents argued that neighborhood services are overburdened and that the land could be used as part of the adjoining park, raising concerns about ecological damage in Bushwick Inlet.
“I feel very strongly that when we’re redeveloping public land, the development has to primarily be for the public good. And after a very challenging negotiation, I think we were able to get there in the end,” Restler told Greenpointers.
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