Local Pols Threaten Legal Action if City Approves Trio of Waterfront Towers
(DNAINFO) Allegra Hobbs | July 21, 2017 — Elected officials said they will bring a lawsuit against the city if it doesn’t halt a trio of skyscrapers slated to rise on the Two Bridges waterfront.
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Councilwoman Margaret Chin on Friday said they will urge the Department of City Planning to reject an application submitted by developers to build the residential towers within a three-block radius, urging the agency to instead put the developments through a more rigorous review process.
But if the city elects to approve the application, which is now making its way through a comparatively lax review, they will resort to legal action, said the politicians.
“To the members of the City Planning Commission, we have a simple message: if you rule against this community, we will use every tool at our disposal to make sure the voices of the people are heard,” Chin said at a rally near the development sites.
JDS Development Group plans to build a 77-story tower at 247 Cherry St., while Two Bridges Associates plans two towers on a shared base at 260 South St. Starrett Development is planning a 62-story residence at 259 Clinton St.
Neighbors fear the collective developments will negatively impact their quality of life by blocking views and natural light, overcrowding an area with sparse transportation and open space options, and driving up property values by bringing hundreds of market-rate units to the largely low-income neighborhood.