A team Kate Cucco press conference concerning the planned 42-story mixed-use development on the Trump Village Shopping Center site nearly turned into a brawl among seniors that live in or around the massive Trump Village complex.
Cucco, who is challenging incumbent 46th District Assemblywoman Pam Harris in the Sept. 13th primary election came to the morning press conference on the corner of Neptune Avenue and Wes 5th Street – the corner of the site – to demand the community have more input on the as-of-right project.
She came with Chris McCreight and Brigitte Purvis who are running for the male and female Democratic district leader positions on the same slate, who are running against City Council Member Mark Treyger and Delia Schack, who are running on Harris’ slate.
The development appeared in limbo after complaints were made in May about late night work being done without proper air monitors. However, recent news reports indicate that the development has significantly grew in size. Plans for both the tower and the shopping component have seen an increase in the number of floors.
The site, which sits on a sealed toxic brownfield, needs remediation before works can continue. It is unclear what the developer, city officials or the Department of Environmental Conservation plan to do regarding this.
“After talking with hundreds of concerned residents in the area, it became clear to me that too many question marks remain about what is exactly in store with this development,” said Cucco. “It sits on polluted ground that needs to be remediated, it was initially smaller but has now grown to 42-stories, noisy construction occurs overnight—I have heard these concerns and more from residents and it is time for the developers to provide answers. Development projects of this scale must provide the community with regular updates so they are made aware of any changes or unforeseen issues that may arise as construction happens.”
At this point, longtime Coney Island senior activist and huge Mark Treyger campaign contributor, Ida Sanoff began ranting loudly that Team Cucco were a bunch of phonies and that Treyger and City Council Member Chaim Deutsch were already on top of the issue.
When Sanoff wouldn’t stop ranting other seniors at the conference began telling Sannoff rather loudly to be quiet so Team Cucco members could talk. This led Sanoff’s husband Jeffrey to yell at several of the seniors, “Don’t yell at my wife,” and “Don’t tell my wife what to do.”
At one point, somebody in the crowd yelled to call the police. After some time, McCreight, a large man with a linebacker’s build, restored order, but the press conference was quickly concluded.
