HPD Announces Modular Affordable Housing in East New York

The program will create studio to four bedroom homes for low income and formerly homeless individuals. On March 4, 2019, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced plans to develop 167 affordable units on City-owned land in East New York. The program is being developed by a team led by Thorobird Companies along with nonprofit partner Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services (BACDYS) and will have a unique modular design to hold … <Read More>


City Planning Approves Application for Supportive and Affordable Housing in East New York

The new building will have 43 apartments for formerly homeless individuals. On January 9, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve an application for the development of a seven-story residential building at 461 Alabama Avenue in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. The City Planning Commission held a public hearing for the application on December 5, 2018. The applicant team consisted of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, CB Emmanuel Realty LLC, … <Read More>


New Bedford Avenue Apartment Building to Replace Underutilized Gas Station

The new building will provide 36 apartments, eleven of which will be affordable. On November 14, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for a rezoning at 895 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. The applicant, 895 Bedford Avenue Realty LLC, proposes to build a seven-story residential building with ground retail space at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Willoughby Avenue.  


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>