Pro-housing advocates lobby for Brooklyn Bridge Park development

A private park advocacy group is fighting back against opponents of a controversial housing plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy argues that the proposed housing development, which would allow for residential towers inside the park grounds, is the only way to defray the $16 million annual maintenance budget for the park. The group’s executive director, Nancy Webster, said that the housing proposal, which would draw its revenue by taxing residents inside the park, would restrict further taxation on surrounding residents. “Limited residential development actually privatizes the park less,” Webster said. But anti-housing advocates say the park, which will cost roughly $350 million to develop, shouldn’t be saddled with housing. “I will never support housing in this park until there are high-rises in Prospect Park, Central Park and every other major park in this city,” said Roy Sloane, a member of another local advocacy group, the Cobble Hill Association. [Brooklyn Paper]