Council Member Santosuosso remarks on Bay Ridge concerns and community plan

I now recognize Council Member Santu Soso for remarks.

Thank you, Chair, and good morning.

The application before us proposes an 11-story mixed-use building in Bay Ridge, providing 292 residential units, of which 88 would be income-restricted through the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Program.

This would, if approved, be one of the largest buildings developed in Bay Ridge in nearly a century.

As such, I do have concerns about this proposal, which I have made clear to the applicant.

The applicant has been responsive in their revised design, taking into account materiality,

setbacks that conform with the average building height in Bay Ridge, family-sized units, rents that are more affordable, and neighborhood concerns around appropriate ground floor tenants.

However, I do need to zoom out a little bit and talk about the context in which this application comes before us.

Because of the charter changes that are due to take effect in January, I anticipate significant development to be proposed in this application's area.

We refer to this area as the Triangle in Bay Ridge, specifically from 86th Street to 95th Street between 4th and 5th Avenue.

It is primarily zoned for industrial, manufacture, and auto uses, and thus, I believe, will be a target for significant housing.

As the charter changes,

Will completely remove myself and the council from the rezoning process, I am deeply concerned about allowing numerous large developments to proceed individually, site by site, without holistic planning.

With this in mind, I strongly believe this area of my district would benefit from a comprehensive community-led planning process, as echoed by the community board and the Brooklyn Borough President.

That is why I will be leading the Bay Ridge Triangle Community Plan, which will be launched soon.

I have made clear to this applicant that I strongly prefer for the

this proposal to be considered as part of that broader neighborhood planning effort and have asked the applicant to withdraw the application until the plan is complete.

The applicant has made clear that they are unwilling to do so and as such my chief concern with this application is that it sets the tone for a plan that my constituents have yet to weigh in on.

I understand that the applicant may be on the verge of reaching an agreement with 32BJ today, and I would just like to underscore that it is of great importance to me that this agreement be finalized as 32BJ is an indispensable partner in this work.

With those thoughts in mind, I look forward to discussing this application further, and I look forward to hearing the perspectives of my colleagues and constituents.

Thank you, Councilmember.

I will now call the applicant panel for this proposal, which consists of...

Yuri Menzak, Paul Polux, and Daniel, I'm going to let you all say your name.

All right.

Council, could you please administer the oath?

Good morning.

Can you please raise your right hand and state your full name for the record?

Oh, wait, please, you have to turn on the microphones.

Paul Prue.

Yuri Menzak.

Daniel Grinchstein.

And can you please raise your right?

Thank you.

Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth in your testimony this morning in response to council member questions?

I do.

I do.

Thank you.

If you're all testifying, if you could keep your microphones on so you'll see a green light.

That's how you're going to know it's on.

There you go.

Thank you.

You may now begin your testimony, which is limited to 10 minutes.

You should start to conclude your presentation at 8 minutes.

When you begin your presentation, please restate your name and your organization.

You may all begin.