Domino project developer Two Trees struck a deal with the city on Monday after mayor Bill de Blasio demanded—and got—additional affordable housing in the Williamsburg megaproject. And seeing how easy that was, the unions have decided to join in on the fun. With City Planning expected to approve the plan today, a coalition of labor unions is planning to leaflet the hearing and call on politicians to withhold support for the project unless Two Trees promises to hire only union workers for the site, the Daily News reports. Two Trees usually hires unionized crane operators and electricians, but uses non-unionized workers for general labor.
How successful the unions will be in their efforts depends on whether or not the new administration, immediately after extracting one major concession from the developer, feels comfortable holding Two Trees' feet to the fire once again. In the Daily Intellegencer today, archicritic Justin Davidson outlined what the city-Two Trees deal reveals about de Blasio's priorities when it comes to development:
[As] the first major real-estate adventure of the post-Bloomberg era, it does offer one crucial lesson: that the de Blasio administration cares a lot about affordable housing, less about how high the towers grow, and not at all about the minutiae of design. To what degree the pressure from unions will figure into this equation remains to be seen, although it worth noting that new public advocate Letitia James and new Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito are strongly pro-union.
· EXCLUSIVE: Unions demand all Domino Sugar site construction workers be organized [NYDN]
· Davidson: The Domino Sugar Plan Signals a Whole New Attitude Toward Development [Daily Intel]
· Domino coverage [Curbed]
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