Judge enjoins Brooklyn’s Broadway Triangle plan

State court judge granted a preliminary injunction blocking the plan the day after full Council approval. On December 21, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s rezoning plan for the Broadway Triangle Urban Renewal Area in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The plan includes rezoning nine blocks, primarily zoned for manufacturing, to R6A and R7A districts in order to facilitate the development of 1,851 residential units, 844 of which will be marketed … <Read More>


Split vote favors Brooklyn Broadway Triangle plan

Community groups opposed to rezoning proposal expressed concerns about HPD’s opaque planning process. On December 7, 2009, the City Council’s Land Use Committee modified and approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s proposal to redevelop the seventeen-block Broadway Triangle Urban Renewal Area in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The City created the Broadway Triangle URA in 1989, and HPD’s proposal included redrawing the boundaries of the urban renewal area and rezoning nine blocks in order to … <Read More>


Text change approved protecting Carroll Gardens

Landscaped front yards in Carroll Gardens. Photo: Molly Brennan.

City Council approves “narrow streets” characterization. On July 23, 2008, the City Council approved a text amendment designed as a stopgap to curb out-of-character development in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. The proposal amends the zoning text to identify six blocks of Carroll Gardens as having “narrow streets,” addressing a unique situation in that Brooklyn neighborhood. The affected blocks have deep, landscaped front yards that … <Read More>


63-story tower to use Battery Tunnel air rights

Helmut Jahn-designed tower will include four-star hotel, condos, spa and fitness center. On November 15, 2007, the City Council voted to approve Time Equities Inc.’s five linked applications to construct a 725-foot-tall mixed-use tower at 50 West Street, directly north of the Battery Parking Garage and adjacent to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. The tower will contain ground-floor retail, 155 hotel rooms, and 290 condominiums. The project site will also contain a 6,821-square-foot urban plaza, … <Read More>