6010 Bay Parkway. Image: Mary Gillen.

Residents and elected officials opposed application to reduce parking requirements for Bay Parkway medical facility. In 2011, the Marcal Group began developing an as-ofright mixed-use medical facility at 6010 Bay Parkway in the Mapleton section of Brooklyn. Marcal later sought Buildings’ approval for a revised project reflecting a 93,920 sq.ft., nine-story medical facility/ commercial building with a total of 120 off-street parking spaces. Buildings rejected the application because a building that size would require at least 235 parking spaces. Marcal applied for a BSA special permit allowing an ambulatory diagnostic or treatment facility to reduce of its off-street parking requirements from one space per 400 sq.ft. to one space per 800 square feet.

Brooklyn Community Board 12, local Council Member David G. Greenfield, Assembly Member William Colton, and community groups opposed the application. At BSA, opponents testified that Marcal should provide the full complement of parking because there was already a high demand for parking in the area due to three nearby schools and a large house of worship. 

At BSA’s direction, Marcal agreed to revise its proposal by slightly reducing the project’s total floor area and increasing the number of parking spaces to 177. Under the revised plan, Marcal would provide 57 parking spaces in the cellar, 48 spaces on the second floor, and 72 spaces on the third floor. The building’s first floor would be occupied by commercial and community facility uses, and community facility uses would occupy the fourth through ninth floors. BSA asked Marcal whether it could eliminate non-essential space in the cellar or first floor and add more parking. Marcal claimed that the first floor could not be re-designed because it would be occupied by MRI equipment. According to Marcal, the MRI equipment needed to be on the first floor so it could be easily moved and serviced.

BSA granted the special permit, finding that Marcal’s revised proposal would not interfere with any public improvement project or the existing street system. BSA also found that any disadvantage to the surrounding community would be outweighed by the project’s benefits. Pointing out that the special permit allowed up to a 50 percent reduction in required parking, BSA noted that Marcal would only reduce the required amount of parking by 24 percent.

BSA: 6010 Bay Parkway, Brooklyn (54-11-BZ) (Feb. 7, 2012) (Lyra J. Altman, for Marcal Group). CITYADMIN