(Photo: Daniel Maurer)
The City Council’s Land Use Committee put its seal of approval on a plan for the site of the Domino Sugar refinery today, bringing it ever closer to becoming a reality. Councilman Stephen Levin said in a statement that “after weeks of discussions we have reached an agreement on the project at the Domino Sugar site that will build on the gains made by the de Blasio Administration to maximize affordable housing and open space to the Williamsburg community.”
In March, the City Planning Commission approved Two Trees Management’s proposal after De Blasio got the developer to bring the amount of affordable housing up to 537,000 square feet (some 700+ units). But Levin had voiced concerns about the number of market-rate units Two Trees planned to build, and whether they would bring too much foot traffic to the neighborhood. He also called for “quality open space.”
A representative of the councilman wasn’t able to share the particulars of the tweaked deal, but said there were changes regarding the amount of open space, the Area Median Income of those inhabiting the affordable housing units (some had complained that the affordable units didn’t serve those with low incomes), and the size of the units unit sizes.
“By working collaboratively with the Administration, we were able to secure housing that has deeper affordability and will be more accessible to families,” Levin said in a statement that thanked De Blasio, Bushwick councilman Antonio Reynoso and finally Two Trees “for their extensive community outreach and collaboration throughout this process.”
Reynoso and Two Trees were not immediately available to clarify the particulars of the deal, but Levin’s office expects to release them in the next days. The full City Council is expected to vote on the committee’s decision Tuesday.