Local group plans to keep fighting River Ring

A group opposed to the River Ring development on the Williamsburg waterfront vow to continue to fight the project after Community Board 1 voted in favor of the project going forward.
Although Community Board 1 approved the rezoning that would allow two buildings of 49 and 64 stories, their verdict came with stipulations. They asked that the developer decrease the number of apartments by 33 percent and increase the number of affordable housing units from 25 to 50 percent.
Local community group Sustainable Williamsburg opposes the project on the grounds that it does not have enough affordable housing and will strain the neighborhood’s infrastructure resources.
“Sustainable Williamsburg hopes that our city officials take the conditions agreed to by the Community Board seriously and commits to imposing them,” said a group spokesperson. “We would note that regardless of how members voted, the conditions themselves had unanimous support from the community board.”
The project was reviewed by the Borough President’s Office on Setpember 27, with a recommendation to follow shortly. The City Council will ulitmately decide whether the rezoning is approved.
Sustainable Williamsburg is hoping to build upon the progress they made during the community board hearings.
“In our view [the stipulations] do not go far enough to reduce the size, scope and density impact of the proposed project to make it truly sustainable,” the spokesperson added. “Without a high level of affordability the high rent apartments in this project will likely cause more displacement of community members than the affordable apartments will be able to house, while putting even greater demand on already overburdened infrastructure.”
As proposed, River Ring would include 1,250 apartments, 313 of which will be affordable. It would also include 83,000 square feet of office and retail space, YMCA, and public beach to help mitigate flooding.
It is being developed by Two Trees management. After the community board vote, the company issued a statement claiming it will honor all previous affordable housing agreements and make changes to their plans that are “within reason.”