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A rapidly-intensifying battle over a swanky new high-rise development proposed for a piece of public land on the Greenpoint waterfront could end up being the first test of a new housing appeals board next month, if the developer can't convince the City Council that it's offering New Yorkers a good deal.
The 600-foot-tall Monitor Point development has been in the works since 2021, when Gotham Organization won a contract from the MTA to relocate its subway deep-cleaning HQ at 40 Quay Street to another location—in exchange for a lease on the idyllic waterfront site to build luxury towers. (It must also make a permanent home for the Greenpoint Monitor Museum).
Now, the project is barreling toward City approval, with the City Council set to vote on Gotham Organization's zoning modification requests for the project on June 25.
But Monitor Point is facing virulent pushback from the Greenpoint community as it speeds toward the vote, with some locals arguing that the developer's promise to make 40 percent of its housing units affordable isn't good enough for a project that sits on public land. Under the current plan, 460 of 1,150 units will be priced for renters earning 40 to 100 percent of the area median income, meaning a one-bedroom would rent for about $1,200 to $3,050 per month. The rest would be market rate, ranging from $4,000 per month for a studio to $9,500 for a three-bedroom.