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REMARKS
Urgency for specific planning of Rikers Island redevelopment
2:39:14
ยท
119 sec
Council Member Restler emphasizes the need for immediate and specific planning for Rikers Island redevelopment, highlighting it as a generational opportunity.
- Calls for crafting a specific plan as quickly as possible
- Suggests relocating various city uses from other neighborhoods to Rikers Island
- Emphasizes the opportunity to free up valuable real estate in other areas
- Expresses concern about potential lack of leadership from the administration
- Urges collaborative work to start informal planning process
- Acknowledges the uncertain timeline for Rikers Island closure but stresses the need for preparedness
Lincoln Restler
2:39:14
the Corey, less about the controversy and more about the FDNY approvals.
2:39:17
But the look, I think that to to just echo the sentiments that were mentioned earlier, we really need to start crafting a specific plan as quickly as possible because it's a generational opportunity for us to achieve our to to achieve a to achieve myriad goals that we have as a city.
2:39:46
You know, I've long loved the idea that there are many city uses in across the neighborhoods of New York City that don't belong, that could be relocated to Rikers Island.
2:39:59
You know, we have a a DOT facility on the waterfront in Williamsburg where they fix, you know, where it's a a shop where they fix things under the Williamsburg Bridge that doesn't need to be on the water.
2:40:10
It doesn't even need to be in a residential neighborhood.
2:40:12
It could be anywhere.
2:40:14
If we were to relocate some of those uses, we could free up really valuable real estate for high impact, highly beneficial uses in addition to battery storage, wastewater treatment plants, or replicating what they're doing in DC if you think that's the right approach.
2:40:31
So look, I bluntly don't expect that we're gonna have leadership from the other side of this building for the remainder of the year, but we need your leadership and to help guide us so that we don't lose this time.
2:40:46
And so I hope that we can collaboratively work together to start informally, at the very least, crafting a plan of what makes the most sense that we can start pushing While the exact deadline while the exact timing of when Rikers Island is gonna close is an open question, it's going to happen.
2:41:08
And we've got to start getting ourselves organized as quickly as to to maximize that opportunity.