The Knicks star is no longer involved in the controversial redevelopment project
Following cries from community activists to withdraw his involvement in Brooklyn’s controversial Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment project, Knicks star Carmelo Anthony has decided to pull out from the project, reports the Daily News.
Anthony had originally planned to sponsor the development project’s sports center which was to feature basketball courts and a swimming pool, but in a letter penned to the small forward, by Bertha Lewis on behalf of the Black Institute and New York Communities for Change, Anthony was told that his name "should not be associated with such a terrible deal for New Yorkers." Anthony must have agreed because according to his lawyer, he is no longer involved in the project.
"Carmelo is our hero," rejoiced Lewis. "Now they can’t use [Anthony] anymore with the black community, and that’s what they were doing." The building is being redeveloped into a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use facility with half of its 300 apartments being deemed affordable. But community members argue that the "affordable" units won’t be affordable for current residents and will only exacerbate gentrification in Crown Heights. "The whole project needs to scrapped, and the administration needs to start over" Lewis declared.
Slate Property Group has also dropped out of the project following public outcry over their involvement, following news of the Rivington House scandal where the developer allegedly had secret plans to turn the Lower East Side nursing home into luxury condos. As it stands, BFC Partners will be handling the project solo.
from
http://ny.curbed.com/2016/9/14/12914220/crown-heights-armory-development-carmelo-anthony-drops-support
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