A Tale of Two Brad Landers: An Open Letter to the New York City Council on the Gowanus Rezone
On Tuesday, November 23, members of the New York City Council will make one of the most important decisions of their term when they vote on the massive Gowanus Rezone—which, at seven times the size of Hudson Yards, is the largest rezoning of the de Blasio administration. The tradition of “member deference” means that many council members are likely to defer or follow the lead of their colleague in whose district the rezoning is located. In Gowanus, that’s Brad Lander.
But for residents of Brooklyn’s District 39—where Lander has been our Council Member for the past 12 years—it can feel as if there are two diametrically opposed Brad Landers, because Lander’s support for the enormous Gowanus Rezone directly contradicts a host of positions he has loudly and publicly proclaimed for years on issues ranging from affordable housing to climate change to racial displacement.
So the real question council members must ponder this week is: Which Brad Lander should they defer to?