Industry City gives up their land grab

 

THE CITY

 The developers behind Industry City’s massive rezoning proposal threw in the towel Tuesday night on plans to expand the Sunset Park waterfront complex, hours after four Brooklyn members of Congress joined the opposition.

The formal withdrawal, though, was unlikely to be the last word on the issue, just as the successful push to scuttle the proposed Amazon headquarters in Long Island City last year continues to roil discussions over competing visions of New York’s future.

“It is clear that the current political environment and a lack of leadership precludes a path forward for our rezoning proposal,” Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball said in a statement late Tuesday.

 The sudden scrapping of the proposal marked a victory for opponents, who said the plan for a larger mixed-used complex would hasten gentrification in the working-class neighborhood and nix any hopes of a return of large-scale manufacturing.

“The question isn’t about hamstringing development and, in fact, Industry City can create jobs, right now, without any rezoning,” Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who represents Sunset Park, told THE CITY hours before Kimball’s team pulled the plug. The news was first reported by Politico New York.

Supporters pointed to the thousands of jobs and $100 million dollars in tax revenue the project was touted to bring at a time when the city is grappling with the devastating fallout wrought by the pandemic.