Forest City portrayed as pro-union in simmering dispute with partner over East Harlem project; record suggests more question marks
In 1,100-unit Harlem project promises affordable housing but not union jobs, yet , Capital New York's Ryan Hutchins reports on a "plan to build three, roughly 50-foot-tall towers on top of East River Plaza, a large shopping mall close to the river," with partners Forest City Ratner and Blumenfeld Development Group proposing to "set aside 25 percent of its units to lease at significantly below market rate." While that would seemingly meet the de Blasio administration goals, writes Hutchins, it remains undecided "whether the East River Plaza development will use union labor—and according to one source close to Forest City, that’s quickly becoming a point of contention between Forest City and Blumenfeld, leaving the project 'deeply troubled.'" Hutchins quotes a union source as saying he'd be stunned at a Forest City project without union labor, but also quotes Blumenfeld as saying it's undecided. Forest City had no comment (except, ...