Brewer on South Street Seaport and Bloomingdale Library
Brewer raises issues about the John Street lot for South Street Seaport, opposition to Pier 19, and asks why the Bloomingdale Library project can't be 100% affordable housing instead of mixed-income.
South Street Seaport, they need John Street lots.
What are you doing about that?
Yeah, so we have a close partnership with South Street Seaport, and we're always looking to help them, you know, with any opportunities or issues that they have.
So we'll continue to work with them.
They need the lot.
Yeah, we'll be talking to them about it.
We haven't worked with that in particular, but we have a very good relationship with them, and we constantly help them with the opportunities that they have.
Okay, and same thing with Pier 15 and Pier 19.
Why do we need a Pier 19?
What's going on with the piers in the South Street Seaport?
I'll have to get back to you about Pier 19.
Okay, we don't like Pier 19.
We want to keep Pier 15 and Pier 16 because
That helps the South Street Seaport Museum.
That's a historic area.
It's not to be something else.
Understood.
I'm not going to give up on the South Street Seaport Museum.
It wouldn't be there if I hadn't bust.
And I will continue.
The Bloomingdale Library, that's your project.
Yes.
But we would like it to be, it's on city-owned land.
Why can't it be 100% affordable?
So if it's 100% affordable, it would be in the HPD pipeline.
We'd like it to go to HPD and get it away from EDC.
So part of the strategy to bring housing online faster is using the mixed income model so we can cross-subsidize.
I'm familiar with it.
I'm from Manhattan.
So, and as you know, there are only certain areas where this kind of works, and this is one of those areas.
And it's important for us to bring housing stock on fast.
As you know, there's a real housing shortage.
The decision was made that this was going to be the sort of mix.
It's not going to, there may be other issues that come up, so it may not happen as fast as you think.
And then at some point get back to me about my beach.
Yes, there was a study that was done in 2015, and we're continuing to look at it.
I think the study came back that we weren't ready for it, but we'll continue to look at it.
I wanted to be able to go to the water.
You know that?
Mm-hmm.
Okay, thank you.
I could go on and on, but I'll stop.