City Council Approves Gotham’s Monitor Point Development

It’s a done deal for the Gotham Organization — with a final approval of its controversial Monitor Point in Brooklyn won after the inclusion of more than 600 affordable homes.

The City Council gave its final go-ahead Thursday for the locally based developer to construct two towers with 1,324 apartments at 40-56 Quay Street, in Greenpoint, Crain’s New York reported. It will replace a truck wash station on 2 acres owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 

The greenlight came three weeks after Council member Lincoln Restler cut an 11th-hour deal with Gotham to make half of the units affordable, boosting the number of affordable units to 662, from 248 units. 

The deal included 161 affordable apartments for seniors and 110 supportive units for formerly homeless residents. Half of the affordable units will be set aside for residents earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of area median income. 

“Our goal on these projects isn’t to make everybody happy — that’s impossible,” Restler said before Thursday’s vote. “It’s to strike a deal that we think will benefit our community for generations to come.”

Plans for Monitor Point include three high-rises with shops and restaurants near Bushwick Inlet Park. Two glass towers at 40 Quay will rise 450 and 600 feet. Another tower at 56 Quay would rise 230 feet, according to the Brooklyn Paper. It will include 50,000 square feet of public waterfront.

A cost and timeline for development were not disclosed.

As part of the deal, Restler secured a commitment from Mayor Zohran Mamdani to complete Bushwick Inlet Park, a longstanding demand of Greenpoint residents. He credited City Council Speaker Julie Menin and the Mamdani administration for helping broker the agreement.

The deal also requires that Gotham provide $300,000 a year to maintain the future Bushwick Inlet Park, build two public bathrooms and help fund accessibility improvements at the Nassau Avenue G train station.

The Mamdani administration has backed the project as part of the mayor’s broader push to build more affordable housing. 

The project had drawn opposition from some Greenpoint residents who said it was too large and didn’t include enough affordable housing or public benefits.

 – Dana Bartholomew

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