CB7 reacts to planning commission’s approval of Industry City rezoning

Community Board 7 Chairperson Cesar Zuniga and District Manager Jeremy Laufer sent a letter to City Council Speaker Corey Johnson last week to express displeasure over the City Planning Commission’s approval of Industry City’s rezoning plan.

In January, board members voted to disapprove two of four proposed actions on Industry City’s expansion unless at least 82 conditions were met by both Industry City and city and state agencies.

“[The] vote by the CPC on Industry City was a betrayal of our community because it is obvious that our efforts and concerns were ignored,” they wrote. “Our board could not reach a majority opinion on two of the zoning issues involved and voted against the other two issues, but each issue was thoroughly reviewed, debated and we had a slew of demands for each, which reflect the myriad concerns of our diverse community.

“Even though CPC Commissioner Marisa Lugo lauded the community board for its work during the hearing, the outcome strongly suggests that our efforts were for nothing as these concerns were not considered or addressed by the commission, who even voted to allow the hotel use that Industry City previously agreed to remove during our public review process.”

Industry City says the $1 billion redevelopment would increase its total usable square footage from 5.3 to 6.6 million square feet and create 20,000 jobs.

Laufer and Zuniga also expressed displeasure with the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.

“In short, ULURP is broken and must be revisited legislatively to give local communities a greater voice in their futures and an opportunity to benefit as a community for sacrifices we are asked to make for the greater good,” they wrote.

The letter pleaded for the City Council to remember the community’s voice.

“We ask that the City Council thoroughly review our community’s efforts and address the concerns that have been ignored by the City Planning Commission as the City Council evaluates and ultimately decides on the fate of Industry City’s proposed rezoning and the fate of our community,” they wrote. “Please do not allow our community’s concerns to  continue to be ignored. Give voice to those who must live with the impact of these decisions. Give us a chance to have a say in our future.”