The Domino Effect: Does Affordable Housing Trump Everything?
Building Stories: New Domino’s Pip Squeaks
Public review to start; opponents walk fine line; traffic jam foreseen
February 10, 2009
The New Domino design approved last June by Landmarks.
The debate over Community Preservation Corporation Resources’ plan to turn the crumbling ex-factory into a 2,200-unit residential complex, with one building as high as 40 stories, is about to explode again, once the developer files its land use application with the city and enters public review. Meanwhile, CPC—usually happy to chat with reporters—has declined to comment for this story until the application is filed, which a representative of the developer said would be “soon.”
“This is far from over,” said Assemblyman Joe Lentol, who has pressed for the developer to open up its books to justify the project’s height (CPC says it needs to build that tall to make up for decreased revenue on the project’s 660 affordable units). “We have now an opportunity to negotiate. They may be able to see the light and redesign the project so that it’s more amenable to the community.”
Stephanie Eisenberg, whom The Observer profiled in October, is still pushing for her solution of turning the place into a Tate Modern-esque cultural center. Her group, the mysteriously named the Williamsburg Independent People, argued that building a boutique hotel, green technology exhibition facility, or space for private art collections would bring in more jobs and tourist money than another residential project (it may seem like a long shot at this point, but Mr. Lentol did say he’d be on board with such a radical redesign: “I’m not against any of those uses,” he said last week).
More than anything else, advocates have raised concerns about the amount of transportation available to service tens of thousands of new residents—the nearby L train is already overcrowded, bus transit is thin, and the huge parking garages that the city requires for new condo projects are poised to create a traffic explosion. According to Transportation Alternatives, the area has a car ownership rate of only about 30 percent; the New Domino’s planned 1,450 spaces allow for over 60 percent car ownership.
The project’s set of circumstances carries with it a nasty dynamic: low-income units end up working as a kind of wedge, with historic preservationists and smart growth advocates bending over backward to avoid being characterized as anti-affordable housing.
“It’s unfortunate that a lot of the dialogue on this has been so polarized. If you bring up any concerns about transportation or accessibility, you’re against affordable housing,” said Teresa Toro, who until recently chaired Community Board 1’s transportation committee. “You’re not necessarily making people’s lives better just by providing affordable housing, because that’s just one aspect of quality of life.”