Did Lobbyists Stop Angel Guardian’s Landmarking?
We’ve been hearing about Angel Guardian Home for a few years.
On Monday, August 11th at 4:00 pm they will decide if the former orphanage building will be landmarked. Residents can submit background information to an online form before 4 pm on Monday, August 11th.
In 2018, the Angel Guardian Home property on 11th Avenue was sold to a developer for $37.5 million. The newspapers acted like everything was hush-hush. Councilman Brannan kept saying he was working on contacting the new owner.
On August 19th, Kings County Politics reported that Senator Andrew Gounardes accepted donations from the developer. (See here)
In April 2018, Brannan wrote on Twitter that he met with the owner and there could be senior housing, affordable housing, green space, a new senior center and public school seats:
We weren’t sure why Justin Brannan was interested in contacting the developer for a building in Councilman Menchaca’s district?
On May 4, 2018, Brannan tweeted that the building was going to be landmarked.
In that 2018 article that Brannan shared, it states that the building was to be landmarked. It says the developer met with the Landmarking Committee. Now in August 2020, when everyone is away for vacation, the Landmarking Committee is deciding if this building can be landmarked. #SomethingIsn’tRightHere
ISN’T THAT STRANGE TO EVERYONE?
We recently found the lobbyist database. We looked up Angel Guardian and see in 2018, Councilman Brannan (and his staff member too) are listed for period 5. We don’t understand why Justin Brannan is involved with this since he doesn’t represent that area. Why wouldn’t Carlos Menchaca’s name be here?
Some good Brooklynites formed a group called: “The Guardians of the Guardian.” They love Brooklyn and don’t want a partial landmarking. They want the convent on the lot to be included in the land marking.
In 2018, the Historic Districts Council sent their representative to the politicians. In the chart below, you can see they lobbied Brannan and other politicians over making Angel Guardian a landmark. Strangely, Carlos Menchaca’s name isn’t on the list, even though the building is in his district.
Last Fall (2019), we looked to see who donated to Brannan’s campaign because he started collecting even though his election isn’t until 2021. Brannan accepted $1,000 from the developer to his campaign in April 2019. See NYC politician donations here We knew something was up!
It’s sad to see that lobbyists are involved in decisions in Brooklyn. And something isn’t right about the Landmark decision being made in August 2020 when people are away. If you have a moment, please stand up for Brooklyn and fill out this online form before 4 pm on Monday, August 11th.
Hugs,
marlene
Topics: Brooklyn | 1 Comment »
August 18th, 2020 at 9:20 pm
[…] of campaign contributions and lobbying, initially reported by The Queen of Click, have gained momentum as both State Senator Andrew Gounardes (D-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, […]