Paula Segal of 596 Acres has noted in the past that many of us "green space warriors" are on new territory here, with the city for instance, and so we have been finding our way, two steps forward, one step back at times. We are lucky, however, to have Lincoln Restler on our side.
Lincoln Restler is the Democratic State Committeeman for Brooklyn's 50th Assembly which includes Greenpoint. Lincoln has become a strong advocate of our project and a great asset to our progress. We were honored to have him at our last group meeting; he was also in attendance at The Public School New York's class, #whOWNSpace GREENPOINT: Observe, Diagram, Intervene, on January 29.
At the #whOWNSpace class, we all had the opportunity to tour the Greenpoint waterfront areas that are zoned or are under zoning consideration for development into public green space and to, well, "observe, diagram..." and make plans to "intervene" as appropriate. One of the stops along the way was 59 Java Street. Eric Brelsford was in attendance and had a few words to say about 596 Acres and their role in inspiring the actions not only of the Java St Garden Collaborative but of other groups across Brooklyn.
In the past week, Lincoln has been in conversation with NYC's HPD (Housing Preservation & Development) department, which ultimately has jurisdiction over the lot at 59 Java St. and the discretion to grant us access to that land, as well as CB1 (Community Board 1) which serves the Greenpoint community in all its issues and concerns.
We hope to have some definitive answers in the coming days and so, as always, WATCH THIS SPACE!
