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De Blasio called on to suspend Pier 6 towers
Mayor gets a pitch from lawmakers to fund Brooklyn Bridge Park upkeep another way
A league of lawmakers is pushing for Mayor Bill de Blasio to hit the brakes on two luxury residential buildings slated for Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The Pier 6 developments currently play a pivotal role in the Bloomberg-era plan to pay for the park’s estimated $16 million a year in maintenance costs, the New York Times reported. However city, state, and federal representatives sent a letter earlier this week requesting the mayor “work collaboratively on alternative park financing, rather than moving forward with the Bloomberg plan,” according to the Times.
The letter was penned by Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez, and City Council members Stephen Levin and Brad Lander, the article said. The lawmakers suggest a new model to fund the park’s upkeep that involves using tax revenue from Brooklyn properties the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is selling, which could be rezoned for residential use, the Times said.
In response, a spokesperson for de Blasio told the Times the mayor would be willing to work through the details of the projects with stakeholders but that the mayor “sees this model as critical” to finance the park long-term. [NYT] — Angela Hunt
(Photos of Bill de Blasio, Daniel Squadron, and Brad Lander from Shutterstock)