City Council Hearing Set For Controversial Industry City Rezoning

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN —A hearing date has been scheduled for what is bound to be the start of a dramatic battle over Industry City's rezoning proposal at City Council.

The City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises has set up a public hearing on the Brooklyn complex's proposal for Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The hearing will be the first time the expansion plan for the 35-acre campus will face New York City's legislature, whose members have already shown public disagreement about the application.

The City Council hearing, and eventual vote, comes after The City Planning Commission approvedIndustry City's plan to transform its campus last month.

All but one of the 13 commission members voted in favor of the proposal, which aims to change zoning rules to allow more than 1 million square feet of development on the industrial complex.

The City Council stage of the review process will likely be more contentious.

Local Council Member Carlos Menchaca, after much back and forth with Industry City developers, has vowed to vote against the rezoning. His vote would typically signal the end of the application, as City Council typically defers to the local elected official.

But several council members who support the proposal have urged members to buck that tradition.

Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball has also urged council members to push the proposal through despite Menchaca's opposition. In a letter to City Council in August, Kimball refuted much of Menchaca's claims against the proposal.

"While I recognize that voting yes over the objections of the local Council Member may be a difficult choice, I am confident that the benefits of this proposal – and our proven track record of progressive engagement with the community – will confirm that the opposition is simply not based on facts and that this is objectively the right choice not only for Sunset Park, but for all of Brooklyn and New York City," Kimball wrote.

Supporters of the rezoning point to the 20,000 jobs Industry City has promised the transformation will bring, specifically amid the city's economic slump brought on by the coronavirus crisis.

But Menchaca and activists who have been fighting against the proposal contend the plan will bring displacement to the largely working class, immigrant community.

The Sept. 15 hearing will begin at 10 a.m. and will include testimony from the public.

Those who wish to testify can register here. Community Board 7, which oversees Sunset Park, has urged residents to contact the District Office for any assistance at 718-439-9012.