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Concerns about problematic developers and AHV enforcement
3:13:03
ยท
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Council Member Restler raises concerns about specific problematic developers, particularly the Naftali Group, and calls for stricter enforcement of after-hours variance (AHV) rules.
- Restler highlights the Naftali Group's 1000-unit development in Williamsburg as an example of a problematic project
- He emphasizes the developer's failure to follow through on promises and be a good neighbor
- The council member calls for accountability and stricter AHV policies for bad actors
- Restler reiterates concerns about the jail project's extensive work hours and its impact on constituents
Lincoln Restler
3:13:03
and we and your team is responsive to a your team is always responsive.
3:13:08
Let me start with that, which I appreciate.
3:13:11
The Brooklyn office, deputy commissioner on down, your intergovernmental team, everybody is always responsive.
3:13:17
I really do appreciate that.
3:13:19
It's never a feeling like we're screaming into the void at DOB.
3:13:22
So thank you firstly.
3:13:23
What I would say though is it always feels to me like what the message I get back from the DOB staff is they're concerned about the pressure they're getting on the developer side if they don't grant these AHVs, and I don't really understand it.
3:13:37
I'll give an example.
3:13:38
We have a horrible developer on the waterfront in Williamsburg, the Naftali Group.
3:13:42
They're building a thousand unit development.
3:13:45
This was a project that was rezoned back when you were in the council in twenty ten, twenty eleven.
3:13:51
There were lots of promises around affordable housing, unit size, different things that they were going to do.
3:13:55
None of that has been followed through upon.
3:13:57
They've made lots of different promises to my office and to DOB about how they were going to be good neighbors.
3:14:02
They haven't been.
3:14:03
They lie and they lie and they lie again.
3:14:06
We yesterday got a commitment from the Brooklyn Commissioner that weekend AHVs were finally going to be lifted.
3:14:13
We still have extensive weekday AHVs for this developer who I think been a bad actor and doesn't deserve it.
3:14:20
And when a developer is such a problematic neighbor and doesn't actually follow the rules and promises they're not going be doing noisy work at certain times and then goes ahead and does exactly that, there should be accountability.
3:14:32
And so I I get we wanna see projects get done on reasonable time frames.
3:14:37
Building a New York is hard.
3:14:38
I'm not trying to be I'm not a crank.
3:14:40
Like, I don't well, I'd like to think I'm not a crank.
3:14:43
Maybe none of us think we are.
UNKNOWN
3:14:44
You're too young to be a crank.
Lincoln Restler
3:14:46
I'm 40
James "Jimmy" S. Oddo
3:14:47
There's still time.
Lincoln Restler
3:14:48
41.
3:14:48
But in all seriousness, we've had more new housing starts in our district over the last fifteen years than any other district in the city.
3:14:55
We have a ton of development and I'm proud of the development we have.
3:14:58
But when we have developers that are bad actors, I want DOB to be my partner in saying you don't get the benefits.
3:15:04
You don't get to work outside of normal business hours.
3:15:06
You don't get any extra leeway because you don't deserve it.
3:15:10
And so they're an example of it.
3:15:11
The jail though, I have to say, right now I'm getting hate mail from constituents who are dealing with twenty one to twenty two hours a day of work on-site.
3:15:19
It's really gotten to a place where it's too much.
3:15:22
And I'm giving Tom, I'm giving DDC an earful as well, but at the end of the day, you're the ones who issue the permits.
3:15:28
You're the ones that are the that say yes or no.
3:15:30
I realize that it's a complicated dynamic with city hall setting the policies and priorities here, but I hope you hear that me and my constituents feel like we have just gone