The public hearing of the City Council will take place tomorrow, Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 10am at City Hall, Manhattan. Dock Street has been the subject of heated debate among residents, politicians, preservations and celebrities. At this hearing, the public and a host of informed experts will address the arguments for/against the project and the direct impact it will have on citizens of New York. A City Council vote, which could happen as early as this Thursday, will be the final step for the green light or halt of the project.
The opposition group includes “The National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Municipal Art Society of New York, The Roebling Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology, The Historic Districts Council, The Society for the Architecture of the City, The DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author David McCullough. More than 12,000 individuals have voiced their objection via petitions, letters, postcards, emails and phone calls to governing bodies including the Department of City Planning, Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council. The civic-minded celebrities opposing the project includes Gabriel Byrne of The Usual Suspects and HBO’s In Treatment, Helen Hunt of As Good as It Gets and Mad About You, Gary Sinise of The Green Mile and Forrest Gump, Ana Ortiz of Ugly Betty, Ana Gasteyer of Saturday Night Live and Mean Girls, Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns of Brooklyn Bridge and The Civil War fame and Skipp Sudduth of Third Watch and Law & Order.”
When: Thursday, May 21, 2009 @ 10 AM – 2 PM
Where: City Hall, 260 Broadway
Who: Those expected to speak in opposition include Ken Burns,, New York City Council Members David Yassky, Tony Avella and Bill de Blasio, Gus Sheha and Doreen Gallo, President and Executive Director of the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance (DNA), DUMBO resident and actor Skipp Sudduth (“Third Watch” and “Law and Order”), as well as executives from groups such as The Municipal Art Society and The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Historic Districts Council.
13 Responses to “Star Studded Dock Street Dumbo City Council Public Hearing (Thu, May 21)”
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May 20th, 2009 at 11:33 am
do any of the above celebs live in dumbo?
May 20th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Seems pretty biased to only list the opposition… – this post looks like a cut and paste job of the DNA’s propaganda
May 20th, 2009 at 11:56 am
I did quote the opposition from a DNA press release, which is why I put them in “quotes”. For pro-Dock Street development, please see a previous post (http://dumbonyc.com/2009/05/06/dock-st-dumbo-campaigning/) which includes a letter from Jed Walentas.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
How can all these people in the opposition possibly fit into 70 Washington, as the Two Trees lickspittles want you to believe?
May 20th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
The pro-Dock Street group includes Carlo Trigiani, Davoyager, and a host of retailers who want more foot traffic because they were too stupid to realize that opening a store in a neighborhood bounded on two sides by a river and a Con Ed electrical grid/Brooklyn Navy Yard was not a good idea. For their sake, a building no higher than the Bridge roadway will still bring in new residents.
May 20th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Yay. Famous idiots + unknown idiots. it’s calming to know that this slow car wreck is finally about to end. go fight AY.
May 20th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
The money and energy for this campaign of lies all comes from 30 Main and 70 Washington. Scratch below the surface and one of those million dollar condos will always appear. They think nothing of railroading the rest of the community to protect their real estate values. The campaign from them and their hired consultants has been cold blooded and amoral. It’s astonishing so many people have been fooled by so few.
May 20th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
they should’ve spent that money on some new window treatments
May 20th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Thanks for the commentary, Jed.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:00 am
[...] Yesterday’s post about Dock Street Dumbo was slanted towards the opposition, as it was based on press releases from the Dumbo Neighborhood Alliance. In response, Jed Walentas sent an open letter to the celebrities opposing the Dock Street Dumbo development. Curbed posted Two Trees’ letter yesterday. Below is the full letter. The public hearing takes place today (Thursday) at 10 am in the City Council Chamber at 260 Broadway in Manhattan. [...]
May 21st, 2009 at 5:41 am
Using children as an excuse to make a gigantic land grab is disgusting. The Bush era is over. Why do you need this money Jeb? To buy another Polo team?
May 21st, 2009 at 6:52 am
Pro-Dock
“Scratch below the surface…” of Dock Street and a billionaire developer will appear. Your implication that Two Trees occupies some kind of moral high ground is either naive or cynical.
The potential school is leverage on massive multi-million dollar returns, vague / open-ended terms designed to benefit the developer in milking the city in the future, an intrusion into public views from the bridge, and, finally, it is an initiative pushed by paying off politicians and secret (possibly illegal) collusion with the SCA. If Dock Street is such a great idea why is this sneaking around even necessary???
I don’t live in 70 Washington OR Sweeney… but if someone doesn’t want to live next to a monolith that’s good-enough for me. Don’t lecture me about million dollar condos, TWO TREES BUILT THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! If you want to talk about payola distorting public policy, then follow the REAL money. This is the most stupid argument of the pro-Dock Street side. How can anyone NOT see the irony?
May 21st, 2009 at 9:00 am
As an aside, give me the 40 million to outfit the proposed Dock Street school (which will be LEASED for a mere 300 seat public school) and I will hire a staff of teachers with ivy league degrees, gourmet catering, and door-to-door chauffeur service with money left over.