Brooklyn, NY - Ground Breaking At Williamsburg Rezoned Waterfront Site

New housing is in the works for a section of Brooklyn waterfront. Mayor Bloomberg said it'll give lower-income families the chance at a good home, but some say the plan doesn't go far enough. It doesn't look like much now, but a former industrial site in Greenpoint-Williamsburg, Brooklyn, will soon be the location of mixed-income housing, now that the city's expanded rezoning program has turned it into a residential area.

The mayor and other city and state leaders broke ground on the project at 164 Kent Avenue. In the first phase, almost 300 residential units will be built, and a third will be affordable.
The two developers behind Palmer's Dock will receive almost $20 million in state and city tax breaks. But one local community group is against the plan, saying the city gave too much and is getting too little in return. “If the city is going to give land for free, that's worth hundreds of million dollars now due to the rezoning, we felt there should have been a much higher degree of affordable housing,” said Philip Depaolo of the People’s Firehouse.

Officials say construction should be wrapped in four years. By the time it's finished, nearly 1,000 units will be built.