INSIDE: GET THE RIGHT RESULTS WITH OUR CLASSIFIEDS SECTION Yo u r World — Yo u r News BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260–2500 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2016 Serving Brownstone Brooklyn, Williamsburg & Greenpoint AWP/16 pages • Vol. 39, No. 46 • November 11–17, 2016 • FREE DREAMS SUNK Trump victory shocks Brooklyn block party By Ruth Brown Brooklyn Paper In the end, Clinton Street and Sec- ond Place were the real signs of the times. Hundreds of Brooklynites gathered at President and Clinton streets in Car- roll Gardens to watch the presidential election results roll in on Nov. 8, but the largely pro-Clinton crowd turned from celebration to desperation as it be- came increasingly unlikely that the street names would prove prophetic — for a second time, at least — with many at- tendees saying they’d rather leave Brook- lyn and the U.S. altogether than face life under a President Trump. “I’m moving to Malaysia, I can’t live with that — the hate and the vile stuff that comes out of him, I’m already freaked out,” said Columbia Street Wa- terfront District resident and event co- organizer Amanda Zinoman, who said she was particularly scared for her Afri- can-American son. “It’s terrifying.” More than 200 people were crammed into the corner at any one time during Photos by Jordan Rathkopf the bash, police estimated. The whole event was thrown together in only a few Hundreds of Hillary Clinton fans days, according to Zinoman — she and — many of them kids — gathered others raised some cash online for a on President and Clinton streets permit and to rent a big screen to dis- in Carroll Gardens on Nov. 8 to play live coverage, and several food watch the results of the presiden- trucks (including, yes, a taco truck ) tial election roll in, but the signs came out as well. did not point to the eventual win- But it didn’t turn out to be the victory ner. party guests were expecting, they said. “We totally expected to be able COMPLETE ELECTION COVERAGE: PAGE 14 Presented without comment from the Brooklyn Paper’s in-house cartoonist Sylvan Migdal. See BLOCK on page 14 Councilman: I’m up for it! Levin backs controversial Downtown rezoning for another new high-rise By Lauren Gill jected the plan, arguing it would on important neighborhood infra- Developer Savanna Partners ing the original rezoning would Brooklyn Paper bring too many new people to the structure like schools,” he said. had originally applied to build a have set a dangerous precedent Councilman Steve Levin (D– area without adding any infrastruc- Levin was one of 19 members 49-story high-rise on a triangu- by allowing a lot of density on Boerum Hill) last Thursday voted ture like school space to support of Council’s Land Use commit- lar lot at Willoughby Street con- a small lot. to support a controversial Down- them, but Levin struck a deal with tee who voted to approve the ap- taining 270 units — 81 of which It called for a floor-area-ratio town rezoning that will allow a the developer to reduce the size of plication, with one member vot- will be below-market-rate — seven — the measure used to determine developer to build a new apart- the building, and says he is sat- ing against it and one abstaining. floors of office space, and three how large a building can be relative ment complex on Flatbush Ave- isfied the compromise means the The full Council still has to vote floors of retail. to the size of the land it is on — of nue Extension. building now won’t be such a bur- on the measure on Nov. 16, but the In addition to concerns about 18, compared to the site’s current Both the local community board den on the area. support of the local member usu- taxing local infrastructure, some ratio of 7.8, which would allow and Borough President Adams re- “It would have less of an impact ally guarantees its success. pols were worried that approv- only for a building of around 15 stories. Levin’s deal sets the ratio at 15 — around 44 stories. Levin says he likes the proj- ect because it includes lots of re- Community News Group / Lauren Gill School in store? tail and office space. The city re- Councilman Steve Levin’s support for rezoning this land all zoned Downtown in 2004 with the but seals the deal for it to become a high-rise apartment intention of creating more com- City, Downtown mall in talks mercial buildings, but develop- building. ers have instead erected dozens By Lauren Gill with the discussions. of residential buildings there, and Schools were a big part of the na’s original plan said he is happy Brooklyn Paper “My understanding is that he hopes a new tower at 141 Wil- negotiations, Levin claims, but be- with the compromise, given these The city is really shopping there have been discussions loughby St. will encourage other cause the city is in talks to build sorts of rezonings tend to get ap- around for new school space around siting a school there builders to include both. a school in the City Point com- proved one way or the other. Downtown! and those conversations are on- “When they rezoned in 2004 plex next door, he didn’t think it “In the kind of real world of the Education officials are in talks going,” said Councilman Steve they thought it would be 1 million was necessary for Savanna to put way that land-use decisions are with the developer of the mas- Levin (D–Downtown). “Noth- square feet of residential and in- aside space or money for an edu- made by the city, this was the best sive new City Point mall and res- ing is promised, but we’re go- stead it’s been closer to 10 million cational institution. outcome that we could achieve,” idential complex to build a long- ing to continue to work on it. I once it’s finally built out,” he said. “We had discussions around said Peter Bray, the executive di- sought new public school in its think it’s absolutely appropriate “This project was seeking to ad- schools and a few people are ex- rector of civic group the Brook- Fulton Street development, ac- to have a school there.” Photo by Stefano Giovannini dress some of those issues by hav- ploring siting a school in a build- lyn Heights Association, who dis- cording to a local pol familiar See SCHOOL on page 12 Downtown’s City Point mall. ing both commercial and residen- ing next door,” he said. cussed the deal with Levin with tial in the same building.” And at least one critic of Savan- other community groups. tis’s decision to give up on compromise from a reporter, a rep said, and the mayor is bummed about the loss of so-called af- fordable housing and the school space, a Growing their own way spokeswoman said in a statement. “This is not the plan we wanted, and nobody won here,” said deputy press LICH developer abandons pursuit of local approval secretary Melissa Grace. Breedlove agrees everybody is los- By Ruth Brown learned the news via a Politico article placed the towers a bit farther away from ing out, but says she doesn’t think the Brooklyn Paper published that afternoon, a fact they say local brownstones, and included some community would have been any bet- The developer who controls the old proves developer Fortis Property Group below-market-rate apartments, space for ter off by accepting the most-recent re- Long Island College Hospital site in Cob- was never really taking their concerns a school, and more parkland. zone plan just to get the below-market ble Hill shocked local residents and pols seriously anyway. Cobble Hill Association members and housing or school space. last Friday when it announced it has given “To release this to the press as the many other residents balked at both de- “Nothing we saw was going to be great way to inform your negotiating part- signs — while Lander said he wouldn’t for the community,” she said. up trying to secure their support to rezone ners, I think it goes to show they don’t give his crucial support for the rezoning The civic group will now try to come the land so it can build a massive luxury act in good faith when they come to without theirs — and the various parties up with a way to block the development housing complex there, and will instead the table,” said Amy Breedlove, the tried to work out a compromise in meet- through legal action, Breedlove says. just build a slightly less massive one that president of civic group the Cobble ings organized by City Hall, which was A Fortis spokesman refused to say doesn’t require the city’s approval. Hill Association. keen to secure the below-market housing whether the developer would go ahead To add insult to injury, local lead- Fortis had put forward two plans for in order to hit Mayor DeBlasio’s goal of with its previously released as-of-right ers and Councilman Brad Lander (D– the property — one shovel-ready “as-of- building 80,000 new units by 2024. design — described separately by both Cobble Hill) — who had been trying to right” design that includes several high- But Breedlove says the talks never Lander and Breedlove as “hideous” — FXFOWLE negotiate with the developer and City rises of up to 35 stories towering over really went anywhere, and she hadn’t or come up with something new, but Fortis’s most-recent plan for the old Long Island College Hospital site, Hall for a mutually agreeable design be- the historic low-rise neighborhood, and heard a peep from Fortis this year.