To the Editor,
Although Mayor Eric Adams failed to appear at the recent “affordable housing” rally in support of the horrible Bruckner upzoning proposal, his press secretary stated that Adams “wholeheartedly supports this project.” That’s infuriating.
The influence of the developers’ paid lobbyists are certainly apparent. Not apparent in the least, however, is the influence of the elected representative who is supposed to be the community’s lobbyist — Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez.
How did our councilmember allow the narrative of this issue to be shaped as the developers being champions of affordable housing rather than the small-time opportunists which they truly are?
Putting aside the merits of the project — there are none — the Bruckner upzoning would be a case of longtime zoning protections, which prompted many to settle here, being obliterated merely to benefit a small group of wannabe real estate tycoons with no track record, apparently no financing in place, and who collectively are best known in the community for bankruptcy, asset shifting, allowing their properties to fester for years on end, and being sued by their employees for cheating them of lawfully earned wages.
The truth is that it’s doubtful that even if they receive their upzoning, that these developers can actually execute their plan. Most likely they will seek to flip the now upzoned yet still undeveloped properties for a quick profit much like Bruckner upzoning developer Zuccarello is currently attempting to do with 68-19 Woodhaven Blvd. – a property Zuccarello had upzoned in 2021 under the pretext of developing an eight-story mixed-use building.
Where was the due diligence by our elected officials on these people? What due diligence was conducted by our councilmember? A guy seeking a business loan to open a local pizzeria would have undergone greater scrutiny than this bunch.
At a recent demonstration protesting the 1900 Seminole Ave. Just Home project, former Councilmember Mark Gjonaj confronted present Velázquez asking “where’s the letter to the mayor?”
I ask the same of her as it pertains to the Bruckner upzoning. Where is her hand in shaping the narrative?
There’s a lot of groundwork on this thing that Velázquez needs to catch up on if she truly intends to protect the community from these greedy would-be developers. I pray she starts soon and ups her game.
Joseph G. Vaini
