UPDATED: The Trump Village Shopping Center meeting scheduled for Jan. 21 will indeed be held as originally planned, reversing the recently reported postponement. The meeting will be at 7 pm Jan. 21 at Abraham Lincoln High School. The Department of Environmental Conservation — which had reportedly asked the developer to postpone the Jan. 21 meeting until after the state agency’s own meeting on Jan. 28 to discuss contamination on the site — will now be at the Jan. 21 meeting and speak before the developer’s representatives.
The Trump Village Shopping Center meeting to be hosted by the developer on Jan. 21 to discuss his plans for the site has been postponed at the request of the Department of Environmental Conservation, according to an elected official.
The reason, according to Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D–Sheepshead Bay), is that the state agency — which is hosting its own meeting on Jan. 28 — wants to make sure residents are aware of the site’s contamination before they hear the developer’s plans to build a 40-story tower.
“DEC wanted to bring out the contamination part of the Trump Shopping Center site, so they wanted to educate the public about the contaminated soil and what the process is,” said Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D–Sheepshead Bay). “They want to be first.”
The site used to be home to the Dangman Park Manufactured Gas Plant and the soil is still contaminated with chemicals including cyanide and mercury. The department confirmed its meeting, which will be held at the Abraham Lincoln High School, but a spokesman for the department would not say whether the department asked the developers to cancel the meeting.
Residents who have been hearing rumors about the shopping complex’s closure since October say they are furious that the developers canceled the meeting. One local said she hopes the developers decide to host the meeting as originally planned because the Jan. 21 date has already been widely publicized and many community members have cleared their schedules to attend.
“People have already announced this meeting at various gatherings, they’ve talked to their neighbors about it,” said Ida Sanoff, who lives in Brighton Beach. “People are not going to know it is canceled.”
Senior citizens who were planning to attend the meeting say they have also already made travel arrangements, but Deutsch — who arranged to have buses for the seniors at the now-postponed meeting — said he also plans to provide bus service for the new meeting, which is expected in early February.
“I will be supplying buses for all the seniors,” he said. “Nothing has changed — just the date has changed.”
Sanoff said the postponement of the meeting, regardless of the reason, is increasing residents’ disdain for the planned project.
“When you have a contentious project and a meeting is rescheduled, it is always suspect,” she said. “I’m extremely upset about it, and I hope this can be straightened out — it sends a very bad message to the community.”
The Trump Village Shopping Center Public Meeting at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brighton Beach (2800 Ocean Parkway near West Avenue). Jan. 21 at 7 pm.
Department of Environmental Conservation public meeting at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brighton Beach (2800 Ocean Parkway near West Avenue). Jan 28 at 6 pm.
