#community-opposition

#community-opposition

Mayor Eric Adams is urging the federal government to expedite the long-delayed Brooklyn-Queens Expressway overhaul, warning that without immediate action, the city may be forced to impose truck weight restrictions and face massive traffic disruptions. In an Oct. 15 letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Adams asked the feds to publish a Notice of Intent by Nov. 14 to begin the federal environmental review for the deteriorating 1.5-mile stretch of the BQE between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street.

A company's opaque plan to build a massive data center outside Tucson, Arizona has roiled the desert city over the past few months, the latest US community to push back as tech companies aggressively seek to build out infrastructure for cloud computing and to power the AI boom. The proposed data center, known as Project Blue, would span 290 acres in Pima county, and become the biggest development ever in the county, or anywhere in the southern part of the state.

"This case began 493 days ago, in early May of '24, and is only about restoring my property entitlements," said Paul Stables, the property owner.

Formal plans for what could be Europe's largest data centre are expected to be submitted in the coming months, new documents show. Havering Council is set to approve the East Havering Data Centre (EHDC), which will straddle the boundary of Havering and Thurrock, in January. The centre designed by developer Digital Reef would cover 99 acres and the scheme would also include a 279-acre ecology park, which the firm said would be publicly accessible. The council's corporate plan, published this week, says it will be consulted on in the autumn before it goes before the strategic planning committee, made up of elected councillors.

The company has a high-powered lobbying firm, Lighthouse Public Affairs, on a $10,000 monthly retainer, Ethics Commission records show. And the Planning Commission just voted to approve a plan to build a 104-foot tower with 12 new antennas in the middle of the residential neighborhood of Diamond Heights. The "monopole" would soar over existing trees and create a major new element on the skyline in a part of town where most construction is limited to four stories.

Groves will turn to graves in Woodland Hills, where a developer has plans to redevelop Boething Treeland Nursery into a cemetery. The 32-acre nursery has grown trees and other plants for the San Fernando Valley for the last seven decades, but it sold last year for $3.96 million to Dignity Memorial, the nation's largest funeral provider. The company is in the process of submitting plans to the city of L.A. to get approval for a cemetery and funeral home on the property.

In the first hour or so, most of the pro-casino people said their bit and left; their talking points were uniform and matter-of-fact, about creating jobs and bringing more people to the area. All the passion, with few exceptions, was coming from the antis. One of those folks told me - and it was reported elsewhere, too, and seemingly caught on an audio recording - that a lot of the pro-casino speakers had been paid with $80 gift cards in exchange for making some noise.

"To be clear, this is not simply a rejection of a new casino in Manhattan - it is a rejection of new housing, new schools, billions of dollars in investment, and more for the borough," said William Fowler, an Adams spokesperson.

A key community panel on Monday rejected plans for a casino next to the United Nations, marking the third casino plan to fail in Manhattan and ensuring no casino will be built in the borough in the immediate future. The rejection of the Freedom Plaza proposal, by a 4-2 vote, came despite last-minute sweeteners by the developer, who promised all of the housing created on site would be affordable. Separate community advisory committees last week rejected proposed casinos in Times Square and Hudson Yards.

In a surprise move, Continuum Company has sold its property near the Brooklyn Botanic Garden less than a year after it secured a controversial site rezoning it had spent years fighting for. The rezoning for 962-972 Franklin Avenue (marketed as 970 Franklin Avenue) was approved in November last year, allowing a 10-story development on the long-vacant site, provided it was angled to reduce the amount of shade cast on the garden's vulnerable plants.

Pop Brixton, a vibrant community-driven initiative in South London, risks demolition under proposed tall tower developments along Brixton Station Road, threatening local businesses and culture.

We are devastated by the decision made by the Deputy Mayor, Jules Pipe, on behalf of the Mayor to allow Spurs to take over our precious public park. This will be a massive loss, both for nature and community.

"I am horrified but not surprised. The flagrant violation of the Clean Air Act and the disregard for our human right to clean air, by xAI's burning of illegal methane turbines, has been stamped as permissible by the Shelby County Health Department."

Civic group the Highgate Society labeled the approval for the seven luxury homes by Haringey Council as 'one of the worst decisions' impacting the historic Highgate bowl.

Despite the State Senate's majority approval for the parkland alienation legislation for the Metropolitan Park casino, Senator Ramos stood against it due to community opposition.

The almost unanimous opposition in West Berkeley against the proposed meat packing plant reflected a significant desire among local residents to maintain high-quality local industries.

"While neighbors voiced complaints at the meeting and in comments submitted with the petition over common issues like traffic safety and parking capacity, the main driver of opposition to the rezoning is mineral."