Members

St.  Stephen’s United Church of God Outreach Inc.

Association of Hispanic Ministers (Interdenominational)

106 Gerry Street Tenants Association

St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church

All Saints Corp.

Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic Church

Nuestros Niños Child Development School

St. Lucy – St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church

St. Martin de Porres Roman Catholic Parish

United Neighbors Organization

Our Lady of Monserrate Roman Catholic Church

Bushwick United Headstart

Community & Parents Day Care

St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church

Cooper Park Tenants Association

St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corp.

Passionist Community of Our Lady of Monserrate Roman Catholic Church

El Puente

All Saints Roman Catholic Church

Central Jewish Council

First Spanish Presbyterian Church

Los Sures Community Development Company, Inc.

Mary of Nazareth Roman Catholic Parish

United Jewish Community Advocacy Relations and Enrichment (UJCARE)

Pratt Institute – Newman Club

41 Whipple Street Tenants Association

Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow

Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church

Passionist Center for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation at North Brooklyn

Marcy Houses Tenant Association

St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church

Trinity Human Services

Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic Church

Primera Iglesia Getsemani (Pentecostal)

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church

Most Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church

St. Michael – St. Edward Roman Catholic Church

Save Our Southside

Bushwick Housing Independence Project

Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, Counsel

BROADWAY TRIANGLE COMMUNITY COALITION

Post Office Box 110267, Brooklyn, New York 11211;

 contact@broadwaytriangle.com; www.broadwaytriangle.com

________________________________________________________________

HUGE COMMUNITY OPPOSITION EXPECTED AT TUESDAY’S COMMUNITY BOARD VOTE ON CONTROVERSIAL CITY PLAN FOR RE-ZONING WILLIAMSBURG/BED STUY BROADWAY TRIANGLE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Leaders of the 40 organization Broadway Triangle Community Coalition will hold a press conference just prior to Community Board #1’s vote on the City’s controversial plan to rezone the 50 acre urban renewal area located at the border of Williamsburg and Bedford Stuyvesant.  The press conference will be held on Tuesday, July 14^th, at 5:30pm at 211 Ainslie Street, Brooklyn.

Neighborhood residents have been asking for over a year to participate in a transparent community planning process.  In December 2008 they sent over 3800 letters to then HPD Commissioner Shaun Donovan asking that he open up the process, to which there was no answer whatsoever.  The group declared:

“it is now clear that the Mayor essentially ceded total control over planning for this huge site to Kings County Democratic Party Leader Vito Lopez’ Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Council from and his allies at United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, excluding Williamsburg’s and Bed Stuy’s  Latino, African American community, and the large part of the Hasidic community not affiliated with UJO, from participation in the plan process.”

Rob Solano, Executive Director of Churches United for Fair Housing, Inc., has declared:

“The City’s proposed rezoning action is a corrupt political deal, not the comprehensive, inclusive plan that it should have been! This is shameful for a Mayor who claims to be above cheap politics and in a country that prides itself on free speech and democratic openness to give the community planning process over to politicians and their surrogate organizations. ”

A huge turnout is expected for the vote.  Prior public presentations at the Community Board have attracted over 200 people as the number of residents unhappy that they are being denied their right to speak attracts growing opposition. 

Broadway Triangle Coalition Chair Juan Ramos declared:

“We call upon the Community Board to reject the City’s corrupt deal and open up the city’s planning process. Alternative proposals offer almost double the desperately needed affordable housing, incorporate major greening and energy saving and producing features.  Alternative concepts reflect the work of a broad cross section of the affected communities supported by the ingenuity and expertise of a team from Pratt led by two former City Planning Commissioners.

The City has put hundreds of thousands of dollars into this zoning action. Moreover the City has committed millions of dollars to the organizations that have controlled the rezoning process and been the recipients of a secret, non-competitive, award of the largest City owned property in the Triangle, 100 Throop Avenue and 35 Bartlett Street.  This kind of stuff should not happen and cannot be tolerated!”      

          Broadway Triangle resident Anita Dunbar stated:

“The City never asked my neighbors or me for our input when they were planning for the Broadway Triangle, we were never invited to a meeting with the City or anything like that, and I live in the Triangle!  What’s going on here?”

          Congressmembers Nydia Velazquez and Ed Towns, as well as Councilmember Diana Reyna, also oppose the plan and have called for transparency.