Queens Crap scored a copy of the letter Council members opposed to the Willets Point redevelopment plan sent to City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden yesterday afternoon. The missive says, in part:

We write to share with you our absolute opposition to the current Willets Point Development Plan. The project that comes before the Department of City Planning on August 13th is far from the best our city can offer for a long-term plan that will affect hundreds of thousands of residents for decades to come…Since the first community meetings of the Flushing redevelopment process, when community residents expressed a desire to include the Iron Triangle in any long-term development plans, the details of this plan have been determined not by residents, but by the Economic Development Corporation.

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At a hearing this morning, the City Council discussed seven legislative reforms regarding construction site safety, including three bills that would further regulate crane operations.

If passed, the legislation would force crane operators to undergo a 30-hour certified training course and to attend refreshers every three years. (Currently certification is not compulsory for crews that “jump” cranes.) It would also require a licensed individual to monitor concrete operations, which Robert LiMandri, the acting commissioner of the Department of Buildings, called a "high risk endeavor" responsible for 59 percent of material falling from building sites.

"We can't have a city where people feel unsafe to walk down the sidewalk because there's a crane working on that block," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.  read more »

Councilman Tony Avella, the Queens Democrat who prides himself on his independence, was the subject of something of an apparent scolding from nearly half of the City Council today. The tool: an extremely rare vote against a rezoning proposal.

Mr. Avella has from time to time engaged in the taboo practice of voting against rezonings in other members’ districts despite support from the local member, such as his votes against the Columbia University West Harlem expansion and the 125th Street rezoning. Council members typically defer to the local members on issues such as rezonings.

Today, 25 Council members voted against a rezoning in Mr. Avella’s district—a rezoning he and 19 other members supported—dealing a rezoning an incredibly rare (perhaps unprecedented) defeat by the full Council.  read more »

Crain's Insider (PDF) has the scoop on how City Council Speaker Christine Quinn plans to introduce a bill for Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan.

Ms. Quinn is herself a supporter of the plan. So she will assign the bill first to the State and Federal Legislation Committee, chaired by fellow plan supporter Maria Baez, rather than to the Finance Committee, chaired by congestion pricing opponent David Weprin. (Hat tip to The Politicker.)

Brownstoner has an interview with Brad Lander, the director since 2003 of the Pratt Center for Community Development who is now running for City Council in District 39, which includes Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.

Mr. Lander praises much of current Brooklyn life, but has some sobering warnings on development and what he calls "growing inequality."  read more »

The City Council approved proposals today for the rezoning of five New York neighborhoods as the Mayor presses forward with the sustainable planning goals of PlanNYC. The neighborhoods affected by the rezoning are Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton, and the Bronx neighborhood of Wakefield.

The goal of the rezoning is to “catalyze growth on key corridors near transit hubs, fostering nearly 900 units of new housing and strengthening local retail activity,” according to a press release.

Full release after the jump.  read more »

In case the warmer weather had you confused about what’s appropriate to wear around City Hall, here is today’s memorandum from the City Council to “all New York City Council Central Staff Employees” reminding them that even on casual Fridays dress code, “this is still a place of business.”

No jeans, hats, team jerseys, t-shirts, flip-flops, etc. The reader who forwarded this to me noted that under these rules, “Jose Rivera wouldn't be welcome at City Hall with his ‘The Bronx’ hat.”  read more »

So one of the weirdest City Council elections in recent memory is finally going to be done with tomorrow. (At least until the end of this year, when the same seat will be up for grabs once again.)  read more »