WGPA

Rendering of proposed Domino redevelopment.
Source: Viñoly Architects, via Brooklyn Papers.

Assemblyman Joe Lentol is not convinced that developer Community Preservation Corporation Resources needs all the zoning it is asking for at the Domino site. Lentol wants CPCR to open its books and make the case for the huge upzoning it is requesting from the City. So far, CPCR has resisted calls from community activists for greater transparency, saying, in effect, trust us.

At issue is the height and density of the CPCR proposal (seen above). CPCR is asking the City to approve substantially taller and denser buildings than were approved during the Williamsburg/Greenpoint Waterfront Rezoning. The developer is claiming that the finances of the project, including 30% affordable housing and the preservation of the Refinery building, require the huge increase in luxury market-rate units. At the same time, they have refused to share any numbers to back up their hardship claims. (The 2005 rezoning was opposed by the community on the basis of its lack of affordable housing, industrial retention and open space, and for its excessive height and density.)

According to Lentol's office, one factor in the assemblyman's call for more information was the recent DOB filing by CPCR to construct a hotel in the Refinery building. CPCR is claiming that there are no plans for a hotel. At the most recent Community Board 1 meeting, a CPCR spokesperson claimed that the hotel filing was a "typo".

Pol sour on Domino Sugar plant proposal [Brooklyn Papers]