#NYC’s biggest development fight since Amazon a test of Corey Johnson’s ambitions

Left-wing activists and their allies on the City Council are once again facing off against a coalition of unions, allied lawmakers and business groups over the fate of a proposed mega-redevelopment — this time, at Brooklyn’s Industry City.

Boosters say the project would yield at least 15,000 new jobs at and nearby the complex that Gotham’s coronavirus-devastated economy desperately needs, while opponents argue it would cause more gentrification in Sunset Park.

The project’s fate now rests in the hands of city lawmakers, putting Council Speaker Corey Johnson into the middle of another showdown between ascendant left-wing activists and stalwart Democratic Party constituencies as he weighs a 2021 mayoral campaign.

“It’s a real tough one. There are no easy outcomes here. You have people who have legitimate concerns on one hand and 15,000 jobs on the other,” said one veteran Democratic strategist. “There are going to be angry people no matter what.

“If he decides to run, the Industry City decision will say a lot about how he plans to run in the primary,” the person added.

Mayor Bill de Blasio again punted to Johnson’s Council when asked about the project during his daily press conference on Tuesday.

“I want to respect the City Council’s process,” he said.

Johnson’s spokeswoman told The Post he’s still reviewing the project.

The project underwent an hours-long Council hearing Tuesday. No vote was taken.

“I’m always available to sit down, Carlos, 24/7,” said Industry City’s chief executive Andrew Kimball told local Councilman Carlos Menchaca (D-Brooklyn), who opposes the project, during one contentious exchange.

“You have yet to gain the confidence of the people who are representing this community,” Menchaca fired back.

The Industry City project is unique in a lot of ways.

Currently, about half of the 5.3 million square feet in the sprawling, 16-building industrial complex is either vacant or used for warehouse and storage space.

The fight centers around Industry City’s request that the Council and de Blasio sign off on changing the zoning over the area so they can use the empty space for other purposes — including for additional film and photo studios, offices and retail and classrooms.

They’ve also asked for permission to demolish an old, decommissioned powerhouse to make way for a new building — one of three proposed. All would be between 10-13 stories tall.

If approved, the changes and new construction would expand Industry City to 6.6 million square feet.

Supporters told the City’s Planning Commission that the expansion would “generate more than 20,000 jobs and attract $1 billion in private investment.”

Those tallies combine 8,000-strong workforce already at Industry City, the 7,000 new positions expected there as well as another 8,000 jobs off-site.

The project is opposed by a coalition of liberals and neighborhood activists who have offered a bevy of objections to the proposal, claiming: expanding the facility will accelerate gentrification in Sunset Park, their insufficient guarantees locals will benefit from the new jobs and the complex is vulnerable to flooding if the city is hit by a hurricane. The complex flooded during Superstorm Sandy.

And they’ve found a powerful ally in Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn), who testified against the project Tuesday.

Typically, Menchaca’s opposition alone would be enough to kill the project thanks to the Council’s tradition of deferring to the local lawmaker on zoning changes and construction projects.

But the promise of thousands of new jobs with unemployment at 20 percent — and Menchaca’s own personal unpopularity among his colleagues — have changed the math.

Three prominent, union-friendly lawmakers — Councilmen Robert Cornegy (D-Brooklyn), Donovan Richards (D-Queens) and Ritchie Torres (D-The Bronx) — are pushing the override.

“Anywhere else in the world, the Industry City project would be a no-brainer. We have to do it,” said Carlo Scissura, head of the New York City Building Congress, which represents builders and union hardhats, both of which are pushing the redevelopment forward.

It’s also gotten support from politically powerful 32BJ, which represents service workers and testified in favor of the redevelopment Tuesday.

But the personal antipathy towards Menchaca — who has frequently frustrated his colleagues — helped cracked the door for the unusual battle, four sources told The Post.

“Carlos Menchaca is one of the most reviled members of the City Council,” said one person familiar with the dynamics. “Sometimes things are politics, somethings things are policy — and sometimes things are personal.”

Additional reporting by Julia Marsh