Huge Development In Works For Broadway Triangle
According to Department of City Planning documents a developer is seeking permission from the city to build a series of eight buildings holding a total of 777 apartments to the north and south of Wallabout Street, between Union and Harrison streets, Crains reported.
The proposed project is expected to include 155 affordable apartments, a half-acre park and 30,000 square feet of retail. It falls within the neighborhood known as the Broadway Triangle – a swath of former and current industrial property bounded by Broadway, and Union and Flushing avenues. There, a collection of community groups have long been calling for bigger buildings with the idea of creating more affordable housing.
The project would require rezoning. While Mayor de Blasio may go along with the plan because it would include a good amount of affordable housing, it is unclear at post time what City Councilman Stephen Levin’s view is on the proposal.
Adams, Cumbo Demand Women Participate In State Budget Negotiations
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams stood with a citywide coalition of men along with Council Member Laurie Cumbo, chair of the Committee on Women’s Issues, to demand that leadership in Albany allow the first-ever female, namely State Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, to sit in statewide budget negotiations.
Adams, who previously served four terms in the State Senate, and others argued that Stewart-Cousins’ inclusion will help shatter the “three men in a room” insider culture that has come to define politics in New York for many disillusioned voters.
“All men must stand up so women can sit down at the negotiating table, in Albany and beyond,” said Adams. “Despite comprising over half of the state’s population, no woman has ever had a seat in statewide budget negotiations; that is simply incomprehensible in 2015.”
“We can no longer allow “Four Men in the Room” to decide the fate of New York State’s $133+ billion budget,” said Cumbo. “New York State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins should be in the room not only because she is a woman, but also because she is the State Senate Democratic Leader. She has earned her seat at the table. Spread the word and urge Governor Cuomo to #letherin.”
Other borough elected officials at the rally included Council Members Robert Cornegy, Jr., Mark Treyger, and Jumaane D. Williams.
The pols also launched an online petition concerning the issue at petitions.moveon.org/sign/let-her-in.
Bipartisan Support For Gun Detection Initiative
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton announcement yesterday of deployment of a new ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology that will decrease officer response times to gunshot incidents and enhance community and public safety drew rare bipartisan support of Brooklyn lawmakers.
The ShotSpotter system triangulates the location of a gunshot to within 25 meters of where the shot was fired. It further tracks relevant information about the gunshots for quicker police deployment to the location of the gunshots.
Several of the borough’s Democratic lawmakers including Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, City Council Member Jumaane Williams and Public Advocate Letitia James lauded the pilot program initiative, which include at several precincts in Brooklyn. It also drew rare bipartisan support from GOP State Senator Marty Golden.
“With the increase in shootings throughout our City, I commend Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton for instituting an advanced program that will assist us in quickly apprehending the perpetrators involved,” said Golden, a former NYPD cop. “The strides we have made in reducing crime must continue, and cognizant of this spike in shootings, the City is taking the right steps so to insure New York City remains the safest large city in America.”
Universal Pre-K Registration Now Open
Applications are now open for free, full-day, high-quality pre–K starting this fall. Residents that are a parent or guardian of a child born in 2011 are encouraged to apply.
Apply now: nyc.gov/prek
