Quinn Set to Steamroll Yassky on Dock Street Project

In a rare departure from custom, Council Speaker Christine Quinn is planning to support a controversial development project against the wishes of the local Council member, David Yassky. The Council almost always defers to the local member on land-use issues.

Quinn told a Council member this morning that she intended to support the planned 17-story Dock Street tower by the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO, according to that member. With the speaker’s support, voting down the project becomes highly unlikely. (A vote is scheduled for tomorrow.)

Politically, the project has been defined by a rift between Councilman David Yassky and Councilwoman Letitia James. Yassky, who represents the district, has been an unwavering opponent, saying the tower is far too tall. James, who represents the neighboring district and is normally no friend of development, has come out in strong support because of a promised school that would be provided in the building. The school, she has argued, makes the vote over the 325-unit building a citywide issue, of concern to the entire Council.

Recently, the Council also overrode Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, who opposed a new high school in Maspeth. The scheduled vote comes as recent advocacy efforts for the project focused on Speaker Quinn. On Monday, and again Wednesday morning, Quinn went on site tours—first with the opponents and then with the developers—to weigh the arguments surrounding the project.