Stringer Joins Coney Island Residents In Opposing Proposed High-Rise
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- A developer wants to go big in Coney Island, Brooklyn, but some worried residents want him to go away.
As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported, opponents were not mincing words Wednesday night about the proposed apartment tower on Neptune Avenue.
"This project is absolutely insane," said resident Ida Sanoff.
At 40 stories, the building will be 180 feet higher than its neighbors. It will be built on the site of the Trump Village Shopping Plaza.
"We're not going to have no sunlight, or whatever. It's going to take everything away from us. We're just going to see a building," Mary Lou Hochhauser said.
Hundreds attended a Wednesday night meeting, where an announcement that a top city official was joining critics in opposing the project drew a big reaction.
New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said the neighborhood can't support another 500 apartments.
"The schools here are overcrowded. P.S. 100 is at 116 percent over capacity," Stringer said.
There are also health concerns. Construction will disturb hazardous waste buried 100 years ago.
"We should not be taking any chances of smelling toxins to get to be to put ourselves at risk of getting cancer," resident Vitaly Slobodskoy said.
Officials claim the site can be cleaned up safely.
"Oh absolutely. We've done these all over New York City and New York State without affecting any local residents," said George Heitzman of the New York State Department of Environmental Protection.
Many are worried about losing their shopping plaza, but the developer said he will relocate the stores to a property a block away.
"We understand that change creates anxiety, but this is something which is going to be phenomenal for that whole community and that whole area," developer representative Dennis Hasher said.
But residents say they've just begun to fight.
