De Blasio Administration Announces Brooklyn-Queens Connector Streetcar

New light rail will bring much-needed connectivity to other existing modes of transportation. On August 30, 2018, the de Blasio Administration announced plans to move forward with the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) streetcar project. The emissions-free light rail system will help serve the continuously growing Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront communities that are underserved by existing transportation.


Transmitter Park in Greenpoint to Get 11-Story Mixed-Use Building Adjacent

Planning Commission approved bulk regulation amendment for an eleven-story building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. On April 26, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application submitted by Kent/Greenpoint, LLC, to develop an eleven-story mixed-use building in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. The applicant sought to amend bulk regulations related to the location of legal windows, landscaping requirements for off-street parking and minimum street wall heights in order to orientate the massing of the proposed … <Read More>


Brooklyn Borough President Adams Delivers Keynote at Affordable Housing Forum

The Borough President promoted his targeted plan to address Brooklyn’s housing needs.  On March 10, 2015 the New York Housing Conference held the Brooklyn Affordable Housing Forum at the National Grid Auditorium in MetroTech Center.  The event featured representatives from community groups, real estate development, and city agencies to address challenges and ideas for affordable housing and services in Brooklyn.


City Planning Sends Greenpoint Waterfront Developments Proposals to the Council

Large Greenpoint Developments, if approved, would produce over 1,400 housing units. On October 30, 2013, the City Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve two major mixed-use developments in Greenpoint, Brooklyn: Greenpoint Landing and 77 Commercial Street. Both projects would allow the City to fulfill commitments to affordable housing and public open space that it made during the 2005 Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning. The 2005 Rezoning of nearly 200 blocks authorized the transformation of Greenpoint’s low-density manufacturing … <Read More>


Nothing Yet Garden Becomes the Nothing Anymore Garden: The Need for Open Space in Williamsburg and Greenpoint

High rises are built in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at a historic rate and most of them remain empty while very few lots are preserved as open space. One such lot at 99 South 5th Street in Williamsburg is owned by Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the City government agency charged with managing affordable housing, and has been vacant for at least 20 years. Last year HPD released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the lot (alternate … <Read More>


Kickstarter wins Landmarks’ approval for Brooklyn HQ

Internet fundraising company plans to renovate dilapidated building in Greenpoint. On March 20, 2012, Landmarks approved a plan by Kickstarter, the crowdsourced fundraising company, to adaptively reuse a neglected building at 58 Kent Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn into its headquarters. 58 Kent Street is one of five buildings making up the former Eberhard Faber Pencil Company factory, which Landmarks designated as a historic district in October 2007. (See CityLand’s coverage here). The two-story … <Read More>