Gounardes On Calko: Developers Must Work With Community

Andrew Gounardes, Marty Golden’s challenger for State Senate in District 22, recently applauded residents who joined forces in a bureaucratic brawl over the parking capacity of a new medical center going up on Bay Parkway.

Neighbors of the development first decided to take action after the developer tried to use a loophole to cut the amount of planned parking in half.

“Bensonhurst residents have reason to be proud of what they’ve accomplished with Calko Medical Center,” Gounardes said in a statement sent to Bensonhurst Bean. “By standing up for their community’s interests and organizing their neighbors, they showed that we have the power to hold government agencies and developers accountable to the people.”

While Gounardes stated that he supported development, he emphasized that developers have a responsibility to work with the communities they choose to build in.

“I welcome development that will bring jobs and services to south Brooklyn. But new projects can only be successful when developers work with community members and elected officials to ensure that more is brought to the community than is taken away. Working with local elected officials like Assemblyman Colton and Councilman Greenfield, Bensonhurst residents saved dozens of parking spots in a area that desperately needs them. They did it without driving away a medical center that will add jobs to the neighborhood. That’s no small task, so they deserve our sincere thanks.”