Previous Post: Public Hearing: Columbia University Expansion
Mad in Manhattanville
Fresh off its 6-to-1 anointment by the City Planning Commission, Columbia University’s application to rezone 17 square blocks of Manhattanville now goes to a hearing on Wednesday morning with a joint pairing of City Council subcommittees, Zoning & Franchises (chaired by Tony Avella) and Planning, Dispositions and Concessions (headed by Dan Garodnick).
Councilmember Robert Jackson, who sits on Avella’s committee, can expect to take some heat at the hearing from constituents over his role in the West Harlem Local Development Corporation, which Community Board 9 created as a vehicle for residents and business owners to negotiate a community benefits agreement but which Jackson, Rep. Charles Rangel and other West Harlem elected officials insisted on having their own representatives join.
Last week, three LDC members resigned, complaining that they were effectively locked out of community benefits negotiations controlled by the elected officials’ representatives.
Jackson was a key supporter of Borough President Scott Stringer’s agreement with Columbia, which paved the way for the university expansion’s approval and doomed prospects for Community Board 9’s own plan for the zone.