CPC Holds Hearing on Proposed Brooklyn Heights Library Redevelopment Plan

The proposed redevelopment would replace the current library with an upgraded library and luxury condominiums.  On September 22, 2015, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ and Brooklyn Public Library’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application to redevelop the Brooklyn Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.  The proposal would replace the current library with a new 36-story building containing a new library on the … <Read More>


Residential Redevelopment of Theater Proposed for Bartel-Pritchard Circle Site

Proposal would demolish one-story commercial building to construct five-story-plus-penthouse apartment building, and build a contemporary addition onto 1920s theater. On April 18, 2015, Landmarks considered a proposal to demolish a one-story 1920s commercial building, construct a new apartment building, and alter and build an addition to a 1920s theater at 187-191 Prospect Park West in the Park Slope Historic District Extension. The theater building, at the corner of 14th Street, faces Prospect Park, … <Read More>


City Council Holds Oversight Hearing on Industrial Land Use

City officials questioned on policy to protect New York’s industrial sector.  On May 6, 2015 the City Council Committee on Land Use held an oversight hearing on industrial land use policy in New York City with a focus on protecting and encouraging the City’s industrial sector from encroaching alternative uses.  In his opening remarks, Councilmember and Land Use Chair David Greenfield emphasized as ineffective the City’s policy of designating Industrial Business Zones without changing the … <Read More>


City Council Holds Oversight Hearing on 421-a Program

HPD Commissioner Been, others testify on effectiveness of the program.  On January 29, 2015 the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings held an oversight hearing on the 421-a tax benefit program. The program, established in 1971 by the New York State Legislature, was designed to spur residential development of underused land by granting a property tax reduction to developers for a period of ten to twenty-five years, with an objective of increasing affordable housing … <Read More>


Call for a Senior Housing Task Force

The shortage of affordable housing is felt in every corner of our City. Reasonably priced options are elusive– jeopardizing many residents’ personal security and eradicating diversity from our communities. Our rapidly growing population of elderly New Yorkers is especially vulnerable; seniors face unique challenges at a time when stability is paramount.


Majority of Testimony Supported 287-Property Extension of Park Slope Historic District

Like the existing district, proposed extension would largely be characterized by 19th-century rowhouses, ecclesiastical structures, and 20th-century apartment buildings. On October 29, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the potential designation of the Park Slope Historic District Extension II. The proposed extension would lie to the north and west of the existing Park Slope Historic District, designated in 1973. A majority of the 287 properties to be incorporated into the extension … <Read More>