What happens when a liberal plays chicken with a socialist? Brooklyn Council member Lincoln Restler and Mayor Zohran Mamdani are about to answer that question — and shed light on how the revised City Charter affects rezoning battles. The progressive Restler has taken a hostage — the Gotham Organization’s massive Monitor Point project — to gain leverage in his quest for Bushwick park funding from the democratic socialist Mamdani. Restler’s leverage, however, is weakened by a new Charter revision that allows Gotham to appeal a City Council rejection to a three-member panel of the mayor, Council speaker and borough president. […]

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