The BHA Annual Meeting on February 26th will feature a spirited panel discussion moderated by NY Times journalist, Ginia Bellafante, author of the weekly Big City column, on the topic, “Who Is Planning  Brooklyn’s Future?”

Brooklyn Heights is surrounded by competing developments and plans: a massive redevelopment of the LICH site, new residential towers on Pier 6, the conversion of the former Watchtower buildings, and towering developments within downtown Brooklyn. Proposals are also being floated to extensively redevelop Red Hook to the south.

These developments are taking place at the same time that the City is pushing forward with the BQX Streetcar project, a massive Brooklyn Detention Center, and the reconstruction of the BQE.

Does the City have a comprehensive vision to guide and manage this growth?  Can the City assure us that the necessary infrastructure is in place?  This is the challenge we’ve posed to the panel.

Ginia Bellafante will engage in a conversation with three distinguished individuals who bring deep planning experience and different perspectives to this issue:

•    Tom Angotti, Professor Emeritus at Hunter College’s Urban Policy and Planning Department and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
•    Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director of the Fifth Avenue Committee and Member on the NYC City Planning Commission
•    Alexander Garvin, who was formerly responsible for planning the rebuilding of the World Trade Center at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and served as a Member of the City Planning Commission

The BHA will also review this past year, including its ongoing efforts to replace DOT’s proposed Promenade Highway with a less environmentally destructive approach to the BQE reconstruction. 

The BHA will bestow its Community Service Awards on four organizations or individuals who have made significant contributions to the neighborhood’s quality of life and enhance its spirit of community. 

The BHA’s Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 26th, 7-9:30 PM, at St. Francis College’s Founders Hall at 180 Remsen Street.  It is open to the general public.  Refreshments will be served after the meeting.