Progressives say the plan for retail and hotels in the working class neighborhood is outdated, particularly with the coronavirus pandemic, and that similar economic development promises made by other mega projects like Atlantic Yards and Hudson Yards were never realized. The community group UPROSE opposes the project. It says jobs related to climate change should be created there.
"The future of offices and retail and high end luxury hotels shouldn't exist in an industrial sector," said Elizabeth Yeampierre, the Executive Director of UPROSE. “That should be happening in other parts of the city. And our industrial sector really should be building for that climate future."