Government briefs

Marine Terminal vote sinks

A $115 million project to redevelop Sunset Park’s South Brooklyn Marine Terminal stalled after local Councilman Carlos Menchaca called for further community control of the site and for the creation of a local community development corporation to manage the property, Crain’s reported. The City Council was set to cast a procedural vote reassigning the lease to the city Economic Development Corp., but that vote was pulled. An earlier lease deal collapsed when the company that won it, Axis Group, went bankrupt in 2013. The terminal’s reactivation is expected to create around 350 new jobs, the New York Daily News reported. City law requires Menchaca’s approval for the project to proceed.

NYCHA to get terror-settlement funds

New York’s public housing projects will receive $101 million to install surveillance cameras, new locks and doors, and improve lighting, Bloomberg reported. The money will come from a $8.83 billion settlement that BNP Paribas SA, France’s largest bank, paid to the city, state, and federal government after pleading guilty to violating U.S. anti-terrorism sanctions. Around $89 million will go toward infrastructure improvements, and about $12 million to security audits and surveys, the results of which will guide the design of crime-fighting strategies, Mayor Bill de Blasio and District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said last month. The city will receive $440 million of the settlement; in October, de Blasio and Vance announced that $90 million would be spent on handheld devices connecting police squad cars to the NYPD’s crime and counter-terrorism databases.

State to subsidize Bronx housing development

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to supplement a mixed-income housing development in the Bronx — the Marcy Sheridan Apartments in Claremont — with $2 million from the state, as part of the New York State Homes and Community Renewal initiative, the New York Daily News reported. Developers Dunn Development Corp. and NYC Partnership NDFC are awaiting city approval to begin work on the project, which will cost $23 million. Officials said that the initiative is intended to encourage a mix of income levels in affordable housing developments. The nine-story, 74-unit complex will also include housing for 37 tenants living with HIV/AIDS.

Southern Tier casino ideas get second look

The Gaming Facility Location board, which is responsible for picking casino locations in upstate New York, approved Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s request to reopen the bidding process for licenses in the Southern Tier, the New York Times reported. When the board reviewed proposals for casino licenses in December, it approved three, withheld a fourth, and rejected two from the Southern Tier that it deemed not viable. The board recommended licenses for a $750 million casino resort in the Catskills, near Monticello, a $300 million casino in Schenectady, and a $425 million gambling hall in the Finger Lakes. Cuomo, who initially supported the board’s conclusions, asked the board to reconsider its decision after local leaders complained, according to the Times. Board Chairman Kevin Law said the board could still decide not to award a license to another proposal, but that if new proposals were submitted and included improvements upon the previous proposals, they would be duly considered.