Gowanus "Public Place" Development Fun Begins

You knew this was going to be interesting, right? In addition to the discussion about what to build at the toxic Public Place site in Gowanus, part of the spectator sport-level entertainment is going to involve who builds it. To that end, the Brooklyn Graphic reports that one of the groups will be a very interesting alliance, including the Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council (founded by North Brooklyn Democratic party boss Assem. Vito Lopez and the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corp. and Carroll Gardens Association. (The private sector partner hasn't been named yet.) Proposals for the site, which will include up to 400 units of housing, plus commercial and open space, are due by October. Here's a sample from the story:

A group founded by Assemblymember Vito Lopez, the powerful Brooklyn Democratic Party boss, will be part of a development team looking to win city approval to build on Public Place, a massive Carroll Gardens property, this newspaper has learned.

The Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, which Lopez founded in the 1970s, will team up with two groups founded by Carroll Gardens activist Salvatore “Buddy” Scotto—the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (GCCDC) and the Carroll Gardens Association (CGA).

“It’s a pretty formidable team,” Scotto said...Angela Battaglia, the housing director for the [Ridgewood-Bushwick] not-for-profit organization, also did not return a call for comment.

Battaglia, who serves as a commissioner on the City Planning Commission, is Lopez’s girlfriend, according to several published reports.

“Chairman Lopez is the head of the Housing Committee, and to that end he is in a position to influence projects and their development. He has done a lot of good work but it also puts him in a position to influence a development of the site,” said a political insider, who did not wish to be named.

We are very, very, very confident in predicting that much South Brooklyn Insider Baseball is going to be played in coming months.