[Photo courtesy of PMFA]
The controversial Toll Brothers project that could be sunk by the firm’s shaky finances before a pile is ever driven into the ground, was endorsed by Community Board Six at a meeting in Park Slope last night. The vote was 23-10 in favor with 6 abstentions. Local blogger PMFA attended and noted that the most pointed questions about the project were raised by board members who aren’t even residents of the area. There will be a hearing at Borough Hall about the project on November 19. The Community Board vote is purely advisory.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Father and Resident // Nov 13, 2008 at 11:49 am
My attendance had little effect on the predetermined outcome of this vote as I am not a community board member…but I felt compelled to serve as witness to this event and those who have marked their names on the wall of shame in our community.
To be clear, no one who addressed last night’s forum had insisted that the development was not wanted, but simply at odds with the inevitable timing of the Gowanus cleanup.
IT TAKES COURAGE TO DO THE RIGHT THING. I witnessed profiles of courage last night as several members without pause defended the safety of OUR community’s children and senior citizens. They actually asked the question “what is the right thing here?”
HOW can anyone contemplate building a RESIDENTIAL dwelling on top of a toxic canal? Are they insane? Can’t we see through the thin guranteed promises of affordable housing and environmental clean-up?
I applaud the council members who voted ‘NO’ to defend MY children..I will lobby against those who approved or abstained with the energy of a committed father and member of his community.
Leadership begins with making difficult decisions when others cannot…look around and see the destruction around from the short-sightedness executed in our financial markets and then think for a moment some of the players involved…including TOLL.
Our leaders are elected to protect us, not compromise us.
I am particualrly disappointed with Raymond Lohier and Brad Lander. They are the thin armor of our children and they failed.
2 woodendesigner // Nov 13, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I am one that is opposed to this project because I just don’t think that it is the right place for a project like this. These building should really fit more with the surrounding neighborhood and be of a scale with the it too.
I also have been wondering, right from first hearing about this project, if anyone has taken into account the amount of pollution in the ground and canal and if anyone would want to buy property that was built on it. It is not going to be a simple clean up and once it is cleaned up is pollution going to seep right back into the ground from the surrounding areas that were not cleaned up? If anything look at the site where the Whole Foods was supposed to be sitting RIGHT NOW. It’s highly polluted and from what I have heard they are looking to get another investor to help spread out the cost of clean up. If the Toll Brothers are already on shaky financial ground then maybe approval for this project should not be given.
As someone that lives just up the street I am all for cleaning up that land and could support a project that develops the land but not this project and not like this. To me it just seems like another developer with big dreams of profit to make and no sense of what the final consequences are.