Mayor Blocks Luxury Condos From Overtaking Vacant Williamsburg Lot: Report

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — Sources within the NYC Mayor's Office told Crain's Monday that the mayor had refused to hand over a strip of valuable land owned by ConEd along the Williamsburg waterfront to luxury developers — a victory for local residents and officials, who had advocated for the land to stay industrial in order to save dozens of Brooklyn jobs.

The Bill de Blasio administration will not rezone the 2.65-acre strip of land at 500 Kent Ave., at the intersection with Division Avenue, from industrial to residential, sources told Crain's New York.

If the mayor's office confirms the Crain's report, this will be a major win for the group of Brooklynites advocating for the site to remain industrial and employ dozens — and potentially hundreds — of New Yorkers.

Con Ed owns the vacant lot, and put it on the market earlier this year. However, the company did not mention the land's manufacturing zoning in its request for proposals, raising concerns for the Brooklyn Borough President's Office.

"That is what sent up the red signals for us," Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said, according to Crain's.

Cushman & Wakefield, the firm marketing the property, described the zoning of the land as permitting "a wide array of commercial uses, including retail, office, light manufacturing, and mixed-use projects."

On Nov. 7, Adams sent a letter to Alicia Glen, deputy mayor for housing and economic development. (Glen has made it a priority to stop industrial business zones from being rezoned for luxury development purposes.) In the letter, Adams made it clear that Con Ed was considering rezoning for residential as a possibility — and argued that the Mayor's Office should quash that hope as soon as possible.

Patch's requests for comment Monday from Con Ed, the borough president and the mayor were not immediately returned.

Image via Google Maps