‘Save the View’ co-founder Guterman asks for pressure on de Blasio and Cuomo
Levin gives support as well
Save The View Now Co-Founder Steven Guterman told a group of about 100 people who attended Tuesday evening’s Town Hall Meeting at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue that he is optimistic about the prospects of the litigation underway against the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation (BBPC), the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), the City of New York and Toll Brothers, developers of the Pierhouse structure that is partially blocking views from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and other locations. Nevertheless, he thinks it is essential to bring as much public pressure as possible on Mayor Bill de Blasio, who controls the BBPC, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who controls the ESDC.
This view was seconded by City Councilmember Stephen Levin, who noted that the BBPC, on the board of directors for which he serves, “is not the most transparent public body.” He ascribed this to the BBPC’s unique structure as “a not-for-profit quasi city agency” which is not subject to the rules governing other arms of city government such as the requirement that development projects be subject to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). Referring to Guterman’s earlier discussion of how the development of Pierhouse complex had violated several agreements concerning the buildings’ height and length, Levin said, “When agreements are broken, they always seem to go toward more buildings and more money being made.”