This will be the first time in the city or state that private housing will be allowed inside of Park borders. As such, all terms negotiated for this building will create precedent for other residential buildings contemplated for this, and other parks, in the future.

The terms must be transparent, and these are not, nor has any rationale formula been developed. Let us be clear, this developer has been given the deal of the century and the park is the loser. Robert A. Levine (RAL) has gotten:

a. change of building zoning from industrial for residential, taken out of ULURP and any community review. This means the developer has saved millions of dollars in permitting and zoning, right off the top. Please be reminded that the last time someone bought this building back in the early 1980's, the community board and city zoning did not allow them to rezone it from industrial to residential use so it was quickly sold to the Jehovah Witnesses. RAL got a sweetheart deal just by bypassing the city's zoning laws.

b. RAL has been given the go-ahead, again outside of community review, of the addition of two floors to the top of the building where the value of penthouse residences exponentially increases the value of this once industrial building. It should be noted that the landmark district abutting this building is predominantly one and two story buildings with the tallest one a 5 story landmark building called the Riverside Houses. At the increased height, this behemoth of a building will be more than three times the height of the tallest building in the area.

c. RAL will have brand new roads built for his building, and new sewers to accommodate the new residences inside the park. This will be done without the city getting any tax revenue for these improvements because the residents' taxes will all go to the greening of their front lawns in the form of PILOT's (payments in lieu of taxes). May I suggest that each home owner in the city request holding on to their taxes so that they can green up their yards but still demand that the city pay for sanitation, police, fire and public school services?

If this lease is approved, the park will have lost:

1. any firm commitment, in writing, that any of the 500 planned parking spaces in the building will actually be available to the park going public.

2. any revenue from these 500 parking spaces, contained inside this building, with new roads leading up to them (paid for by the city). Other parks obtain revenue from all commercial enterprises within park borders. Why isn't that formula being applied to revenue derived from parking?

3. any revenue from the two restaurants planned on the ground floor of this building. The restaurants can only survive based on park-goers. Tavern on the Green paid $1.24 million or 3.5% gross revenue to Central Park last year for the privilege of being inside the park. Why aren't the Levine building restaurants asked to pay into the park, too?

4. any revenue from the retail stores also mentioned in the contract but no dollars flowing to the park despite these stores being patronized by park goers.

5. any revenue from the sale of the private cabanas located on top of the third floor of the lower building. These cabanas would have little value without the access to the water provided by the park and the roads to be built by park dollars to get to them.

The final insult to the park is the $2 per square foot park fee that the city and state economic development corporations herald as a break-through in revenue sharing. This $2 per square foot is an insult to the people of the city and state and to the great bridge this park was to celebrate. It is one third what Condo's in Westchester pay to be on a nine hole public golf course.

If Mr. Levine, who stands to more than double his investment after all expenses, estimated at $700 million, were to assume what other parks have demanded of their commercial enterprises, THIS BUILDING ALONE could support the true operations and maintenance of the park.

We urge the city and state to say "no" to this deal.
Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund

Judi Francis, President