Borough President Marty Markowitz will host a hearing Wednesday on the
plan to build an Ikea home furnishings store on the Erie Basin waterfront
in Red Hook.
The public hearing, part of the city’s land use review process, will
be held at Borough Hall, on Joralemon Street at Court Street, at 6 pm,
on June 30.
Two weeks ago, Community Board 6 voted to approve the application to build
the 346,000-square-foot store.
Ikea builds most of its stores in suburban areas, in industrial parks
or off highway exits; this Ikea would be the first in an urban area.
The plan has split Red Hook into two camps — those who want the jobs
Ikea officials promise to bring to the community and those concerned that
the neighborhood, which already handles a heavy volume of truck traffic,
will be overrun by vehicles heading to and from the big box store.
After the hearing, the borough president will have approximately two weeks
to make a recommendation before the application moves on to the City Planning
Commission and then the City Council.
