Passions were inflamed last night as City Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights) and Council Speaker Corey Johnson hosted a town hall meeting in Crown Heights to answer questions about the most pressing issues pertaining to the district.
Also on hand for the meeting at Medgar Evers Preparatory School, 1186 Carroll Street, were a number of elected officials who represent the area including U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, and Democratic District Leaders Geoffrey Davis and Shirley Patterson, as well City Council Member Chaim Deutsch (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach, Midwood), who chairs the Council’s Jewish Caucus.
“I’m so happy to be here tonight to host this town hall with my dear, dear good friend,” said Johnson.
Cumbo said that she specifically chose Medgar Evers, a low-income school with a 100 percent graduation rate, to highlight what she considered to be an awe-inspiring success story.
“They’re doing so much with so little, and that’s why I wanted everyone to be here today,” said Cumbo. “It’s certainly important that we put our hands around this particular institution and bring more city resources here to make sure that we expand on the incredible work that they’re doing.”
The packed crowd that night wasn’t quite as optimistic, however, as several audience members grilled Cumbo and Johnson about their respective records on affordable housing and climate change, among other issues.
Though the atmosphere was relatively tranquil when the meeting began, there were early signs that the crowd wasn’t as welcoming as Cumbo and Johnson had anticipated. While he was answering the first question, Johnson remarked that Cumbo has been able to “get some great projects done with affordable housing” – a claim that was met with derisive laughter from the audience.
The audience’s disapproval of their records on affordable housing became more evident as the night went on. One female audience member accused Cumbo of going back on her word regarding the Bedford Union Armory project, claiming that Cumbo broke her promise to heed the community’s input on the project prior to being reelected.
“The community spoke; they said they do not want to rezone, they do not want luxury apartments,” the woman said. “You had the luxury of making it 100 percent [affordable housing]. We don’t want basketball courts. We don’t want arts. We want roofs over our heads.”
Cumbo, however, insisted that she never lied, pointing out that 60 percent of the units in the Bedford Union Armory will be offered to families making 30 to 60 percent the Average Median Income (AMI). Furthermore, she was adamant in her position that the recreational facilities in the Armory will fulfill a vital purpose in the community.
“I’m concerned about whether our youth have some place to go,” said Cumbo. “That is the key issue in this community. Young people are shooting and killing each other in this community because they have no place to go, and a recreational facility is what started this conversation, not the housing.”
Climate change was another issue that Cumbo and Johnson got grilled over. Fort Greene community activist Lucy Koteen took Cumbo to task over the Parks Without Borders project, an initiative to renovate Fort Greene Park that would involve the removal of 58 trees.
“What are you doing to stop this arborcide in our premium park?” asked Koteen. “What are you doing for the children who live in the area?”
Cumbo maintained that the project would ultimately help Fort Greene.
“Every tree that’s going to be removed is going to be replaced by three additional trees,” said Cumbo – though this answer didn’t sit well with the attendees, one of whom called out, “You can’t replace old trees! You just can’t!”
In spite of the chaos that dominated the evening, Cumbo expressed gratitude for the opportunity to hold the town hall meeting and hear directly from the community she governs.
“I’m so happy that you all have joined here,” said Cumbo. “Town hall meetings are such a great way to gain ideas, innovation, and to hear all of the different voices that make up this district. It makes projects stronger, and it gives us an opportunity to hear one another, and to get to know one another.”
