When the de Blasio administration first floated the idea of constructing new affordable housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the neighbors cried foul, complaining that the entire reason that residential towers were allowed in the park in the first place was to provide revenue to keep it running. They also complained, in somewhat more vague terms, that people who live in affordable housing are gross. It was not, as they say, "a good look."
Now, the towers' opponents have switched tactics and are arguing that there should be no towers built in the park whatsoever (even though these towers have been part of the plan all along) because the funding for the park will be taken care of once the tax breaks for the existing towers expire in 2018. "I believe the park is overfunded," said Henry Richmond, a financial analyst who, it just so happens, lives near the park. "Overfunded" isn't usually a word you hear when people are making a case to not build affordable housing, but here we are. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, meanwhile, maintains that even with the increased tax revenue, the park is still going to run out of money by 2027 due to the cost of refurbishing rotting piers.
· Opposing Reports on Cost of Brooklyn Bridge Park [WSJ]
· Brooklyn Bridge Park coverage [Curbed]
Photo by Shannon Ayala
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