A coalition of unions accused developer Acadia Realty Trust of short-shrifting workers on wages, in a mass rally at the City Point development in Downtown Brooklyn today, the Brooklyn Paper reported.
The protestors said that since the development—located on the Flatbush Avenue Extension between DeKalb Avenue and Willoughby Street—received tax-exempt stimulus funds, union workers should have been selected for the job.
“The only reason they’re not using union workers is because they don’t want to pay a fair wage,” said Terry Moore, the business manager of the Metallic Lathers and Reinforcing Ironworkers for Local 46.
Tom Montvel-Cohen, a spokesperson for City Point, would not disclose the currently-employed workers’ wages, but said that the protestors were wrong about calling the stimulus money a taxpayer handout. Instead, he said, it was a bond that the developers would have to pay back in full, with interest. [Brooklyn Paper] –Hiten Samtani