By Michael Ventura and Elizabeth Ladzinski
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — The ongoing debate over Columbia University's plan to build a sports complex in Inwood has turned into a fight between local politicians.
City Councilmen Robert Jackson and Ydanis Rodriguez reportedly got into a shouting match at City Hall Tuesday, the Daily News reported.
Jackson claims that Rodriguez and state Sen. Adriano Espaillat are telling constituents in Upper Manhattan that Jackson is "anti-Dominican," the News reported.
"This is totally unacceptable to me," Jackson said, the News reported. "If they have a problem with me, they need to come to my face and tell me directly."
Rodriguez reportedly retorted that "what goes around, comes around," and "we are not playing in the minor league. This is the major league."
The spat centers around Columbia's Boathouse Marsh Project, where the university plans to build a 47,500-square-foot sports complex to be built on its property at Baker Field.
Because the complex will be located on land on the waterfront, the school is required by law to incorporate public access to that waterfront.
If the City Council gives the school the go-ahead, Columbia will only have to dedicate 1.5 percent of its property to waterfront access, rather than the normal 15 percent under zoning law.
The zoning modification was voted in favor 11 to 1 by the Department of City Planning in February, causing some residents to think that the school is being given preferential treatment. Rodriguez, whose district is nearby, has not publicly supported the project, while Jackson, who represents the project area, has said in the past that he would support the school's plans while addressing community concerns.
The public argument follows dueling letters the politicians sent each other in recent days.
In a letter dated March 14, Jackson called on Rodriguez and Espaillat to cease "divisiveness" about the project.
"Suggesting that there is some way to 'slow this down' or delay a vote in the City Council and attempting to imply that I am not acting in the interests of my constituents of every race and ethnicity is patently false," Jackson said in the letter.
Espaillat and Rodriguez responded in an undated letter that they hoped they could work with Jackson "on this critical issue in a constructive manner."
