Yesterday, the Fortis Property Group revealed its revised plans for the former LICH site in Cobble Hill, and to say they have not been well-received by the community would be an understatement. "We were shocked," Cobble Hill Association VP Buzz Doherty told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Both plans would have soaring residential components and a new medical facility. But one plan, which would be as-of-right, wouldn't have affordable housing and might have a dorm while the other, which would have to go through ULURP, would have affordable housing, a school, and a tall tower closer to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
The CHA believes that Cobble Hill residents are being forced into supporting a plan they don't like: if the community doesn't get behind the denser ULURP plan, they'll be left with a proposal that they've called a "worst-case scenario" in the past. "The new plan, which includes student housing under a 'community facility' zoning exception, increases the residential component of the as-of-right plan by almost 40 percent and would contribute to an almost 30 percent total increase in Cobble Hill's population," Doherty told the Eagle. The association plans to hold a series of block meetings next week to discuss the situation with residents.
In response, Fortis spokesperson James Yolles told the Eagle, "We continue to believe our rezoning plan, which would include affordable and senior housing, a new public school and increased park space, is a great alternative for the neighborhood. We look forward to continuing discussions with the community over the coming weeks."
· Cobble Hill shocked at latest change in LICH development proposal [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]
· Fortis Reveals Two Wildly Different Plans for Former LICH Site [Curbed]
· Fortis LICH Project [Official]
· All Long Island College Hospital coverage [Curbed]
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