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A routine Community Board 7 meeting turned into one of the most contentious neighborhood showdowns of the year on Wednesday, as residents and board members sharply criticized the city’s plan to demolish the Bloomingdale Library and replace it with a massive mixed-use development containing roughly 850 apartments.
The proposal — led by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and supported by the New York Public Library — is moving toward an expected Request for Proposals (RFP) release within the next 45 days. But last night made clear that the community’s patience has reached a breaking point.
Residents unleashed some of the strongest pushback heard since the project was announced earlier this year. One longtime neighbor, frustrated with gridlock on nearby streets, warned that the development (at 150 West 100th Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues) would make an already strained area dangerous for emergency response.
“The traffic congestion existing is so bad that first responders often can’t get down the block on 97th Street from Columbus to Amsterdam.” They added, “This is a ridiculous, absolutely absurd proposition.”
Another resident echoed the deep frustration about what many see as a project being pushed through before the public has truly been heard.
“It feels rushed. There needs to be more community input. We are going to have a new mayor. We don’t even know if it’s worth it.”
CB7 members went after the city just as forcefully. One board member blasted EDC for planning to issue the RFP without sharing a draft with the community first.
“I just don’t understand how you can go in and send out an RFP without having made any calculations as to the mix of affordable and market rates. Just seems to me the height of irresponsibility.”
Another said the city’s entire framing — asking developers to decide the affordability mix — made no sense.
“This seems childish. It seems just irrational.”
The hottest debate of the night centered on how much of the project should be affordable housing.
Some residents demanded 100% affordability. EDC officials insisted that was impossible without massive city subsidies, which they say won’t come to a site this valuable.
“Because our land is valuable, we are going to be significantly more burdened than other communities while getting less affordable housing,” one responded.
“We’re still going to wind up with a very tall building and not that much affordable,” another added.
Board members argued fiercely over whether the RFP should include a specific minimum percentage. Some pushed for at least 35%. Others warned that setting a number could scare away developers and sink the entire project.
Ultimately, the committee passed a new motion requiring that the RFP prioritize “the greatest percentage of affordable housing square footage possible… along with the deepest affordability possible.” That line — now formally adopted — will be included in CB7’s letter to the city.
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Several residents described earlier construction in the area as traumatizing — and warned this project would be far worse.
“You lose a lot of sleep when you have construction next to you. This is going to be five years of construction.”
One recounted rat infestations triggered by past sewer work.
“It unearthed the lodgings of the rats and the mice… and we were inundated.”
Others emphasized that Bloomingdale Library serves as an informal childcare center after school every day, and that closing it for years would hurt families.
Several speakers said the project would worsen already severe congestion, with one resident calling West 97th Street and West 100th Street “a standstill in rush hour.”
A woman who lives nearby said “This will affect the health, safety and quality of life of thousands and thousands of people who live there.”
Another added, “In rush hour, you can’t get on West the 96th Street Crosstown bus.”
Despite the blowback, EDC reiterated its position: New York needs housing, and this site offers rare potential. One EDC representative said “The value of the land… pays for the library and pays for the relocation and pays for the permanently affordable.”
Another stressed that Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) requirements — 20–30% affordability — are only the minimum, not the limit. “MIH is a floor for affordability. It’s not the ceiling here.”
The city appears determined to move forward. The RFP is expected to be released by the end of 2025 — a timeline several board members described as “rushed” and “political,” especially with a new mayor preparing to take office.
CB7 will send a revised letter reflecting last night’s vote, but city officials confirmed that nothing the board does can stop the RFP from being issued, which only deepened frustration.
As one resident put it bluntly, “This is going to be a disaster.”
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