City Planning Releases North Brooklyn Industry & Innovation Plan

The Department of City Planning released a comprehensive plan which seeks to update zoning and other land use strategies to stimulate spaces for new jobs and economic activity in the area. On November 19, 2018, the Department of City Planning released the North Brooklyn Industry & Innovation Plan which sets land use goals and tools for businesses in the area to promote growth and expansion. The Plan is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 10-point … <Read More>


City Planning Commission Considers Rezoning Near Brooklyn Botanical Garden

If approved, the rezoning will make way for construction of over 500 new apartments in Crown Heights. On September 26, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a rezoning application for Franklin Avenue in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. The rezoning would allow construction of two new 16-story buildings at 40 Crown Street and 931 Carroll Street. Both buildings are a block east of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.


Needed: Large Venues for Large Protest/Rallies in New York City

Peaceful protests, protected by the First Amendment, are fundamental to our constitutional system and to democracy. Peaceful protest marches and rallies have been instrumental in bringing about significant change in racial, gender, LGBTQ and economic equality; reproductive rights; climate policy; capital punishment; housing; criminal justice, and voting rights. Yet in recent years appropriate venues have been unavailable for large peaceful protests, raising the question of whether City practices inappropriately limit the exercise of First Amendment … <Read More>


Rezoning Application Will Map First MIH Area in Brooklyn Community District 15

New development will include both residential and commercial uses. On August 8, 2018, the City Planning Commission approved a rezoning application by Quentin Plaza LLC for 1881-1883 McDonald Avenue in the Homecrest neighborhood of Brooklyn. The proposed zoning map and zoning text amendment will facilitate a new mixed-use building. The rezoning area is bounded by Avenue P to the north, East 2nd Street to the east, Woodside Avenue to the south, and McDonald Avenue … <Read More>


669 Affordable Units Preserved in New York City Neighborhoods

Preservation of Section 8 properties will prevent conversion to market-rate housing. On August 15, 2018, the Housing Preservation and Development, the Housing Development Corporation, and the LIHC Investment Group announced the preservation of 669 units of project-based Section 8 housing in high-cost City neighborhoods where similar buildings have been converted to market-rate housing.


Residents Oppose New Development In Bushwick

Applicant faces uphill battle to turn parking lot into residential building. On June 13, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application by Camber Property Group for rezoning at 1601 DeKalb Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The rezoning will facilitate the construction of a new residential building. The rezoning will affect three lots owned by Camber and seven lots not owned by the applicant. The new building, however, will be constructed on … <Read More>