The final chapter in Downtown's only active new construction project has been delayed once again.
The developer says the latest delay was caused by a "dysfunctional system." The city describes it as a "misunderstanding."
Hallmark Partners appeared before the Office of Economic Development's Downtown Development Review Board Thursday expecting to be granted final approval for the Unity Plaza public park element of the 220 Riverside apartment project now under construction along Riverside Avenue in Brooklyn.
Instead, Hallmark will appear again before the board on Tuesday due to a mix-up in how Thursday's meeting was advertised.
Alex Coley, Hallmark principal, said the city has been reviewing plans for the project for several years. Unity Plaza began in 2009 as the retention pond for the state's Riverside Avenue and Forest Street improvement project and evolved into a public space and amphitheater to accommodate 2,000 people adjacent to the apartment development.
"We made it very clear we'd been through the conceptual process in phase one of the project," he said.
Coley said Hallmark was told by OED staff to apply for combined conceptual and final approval on the application for the project to be placed on the agenda for Thursday's meeting and that's how the meeting would be noticed to the public.
After the project was presented Thursday, board member Chris Flagg questioned why Unity Plaza was on the agenda for conceptual approval instead of final approval. Flagg said his comment was based on the level of detail in the presentation on Thursday.
City Assistant General Counsel Jason Teal advised the board that Unity Plaza had been noticed for only conceptual approval and therefore could not be granted final approval at the meeting.
"It has nothing to do with lack of detail, it has to do with due process," Teal said.
He said because the board functions in a quasi-judicial capacity, it may consider only actions that have been publicly noticed.
He advised the board that if it granted approval beyond what was on the agenda Thursday, it could leave open the possibility that a party could legally contest the action based on not having had the opportunity to comment on the public record prior to final approval.
Coley said this morning that as far as he knew, the means were in place for the board to grant final approval Thursday, based on the preliminary work Hallmark did with the city to schedule the presentation.
"The system is dysfunctional," Coley said, "if the staff can't describe to us how the system works."
David DeCamp, communications director for Mayor Alvin Brown, responded, "Whatever misunderstanding occurred, by Tuesday it can be remedied. That's the correct way to move forward."
DeCamp said he doesn't think anything had "broken down" and "we look forward to this proposal advancing and continuing to enhance our urban core."
"It's a misunderstanding that will remedied by the administration in a matter of days," he said. "That's our answer."
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