Brooklyn, NY - Growing Pains in Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - “Buildings are popping up like mushrooms,” said CB member Christopher Olechowski of post-rezoning Williamsburg and Greenpoint. “All you hear are jackhammers. If you go down Kent, the road is being repaved. It’s everywhere."

While some people dislike the growth itself, others are upset that the city has not kept up with the developers -- either in terms of enforcement or promises of affordable housing.
There are have been 24610 construction permits from the Department of Buildings and only nine new units of affordable housing created. And to top it off, the city has yet to finance a legal fund it promised to help tenants fight displacement by overeager developers.

The watchdog group Williamsburg/Greenpoint Development Watchdog reports that more than 20 projects in the area have damged adjoining structures. The developers blame poor existing structural conditions and most residents point the finger at carelessness and greed on the part of developers and inefficacy on the part of DOB. “We’re in such a huge boom,” said William Harvey, an architect who lives on North 8th Street. “D.O.B. doesn’t have the people power to watch over it.”