Controversial Rezoning for Industry City Mega-Project Finally Withdrawn in New York City

"The developers behind rezoning plans for the sprawling Industry City complex in Sunset Park have decided to withdraw their application after a yearslong fight over the waterfront swath of Brooklyn," reports Janaki Chadha.

"The site owners — a partnership between Jamestown, Belvedere Capital and Angelo Gordon — first proposed the rezoning six years ago," adds Chadha for historical context. The project has been called a "Hipster Mega-Project" and "Amazon 2" over the years, and the debate about the potential of the project had reached a boil this summer after local Councilmember Carlos Menchaca opposed the project.

The project proposal needed the rezoning to "expand the 5 million-square-foot complex and alter the existing zoning to allow for more businesses, retail and academic space," according to Chadha. The project's developers "estimated the rezoning would bring 15,000 new jobs at Industry City and in the surrounding area, adding to 8,000 created at the complex since 2013."

The final nail in the coffin for the project came this week, as the Democratic congressional representative for Sunset Park, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, joined the growing group of local politicians to oppose the project.

Jaime DeJesus provides additional news coverage of the big Industry City news for the Brooklyn Eagle.