Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street neighborhoods rezoned to prevent out-of-scale development. On October 28, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal for 86 blocks in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street neighborhoods. The approved plan replaces the area’s R6 zoning with contextual districts in order to establish height limits to preserve the neighborhoods’ existing built character. The area is characterized by three- to four-story rowhouses with some four- to five-story multi-family apartment buildings. Recent development has resulted in buildings that are out-of-scale with the area’s low-rise context. 6 CityLand 120 (Sept. 15, 2009).

The plan rezones 76 full or partial blocks to R6B, establishing maximum building heights of 50 feet for many residential east-west blocks. It applies R6A regulations along the wide, mixed-use corridors of Court and Columbia Streets and on narrow streets characterized by taller, bulkier buildings. The approved proposal rezones a one-block portion along Tiffany Place to R7A, reflecting the block’s existing seven-story buildings. Commercial overlays along Smith, Court, and Columbia Streets have been adjusted to allow an expanded range of uses and to prevent encroachment into the residential side streets. (more…)

Residents concerned that rezoning plan does not go far enough to prevent out-of-character development. On August 19, 2009, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 86 blocks of Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street neighborhoods. The proposed rezoning area is currently zoned R6 and is generally bounded by Warren and Degraw Streets to the north, Hamilton Avenue to the south, Bond and Hoyt Streets to the east, and Columbia Street to the west. The plan builds on the recently approved Carroll Gardens Narrow Streets Text Amendment aimed at limiting the size and configuration of construction on side streets with deep courtyards. 5 CityLand 103 (Aug. 15, 2008).

The Columbia Street area, making up the eastern 14-block portion of the plan, has been influenced by its proximity to the historically industrial waterfront. The neighborhood has recently experienced an increase in residential and commercial development and is characterized by three- to four-story rowhouses and seven-story former manufacturing buildings along Tiffany Place, which have been converted to apartments, while three- to four-story mixed-use buildings are found along the retail corridors of Columbia and Union Streets. (more…)

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 the City Map includes within the street width. Despite actual street widths of 50 feet, developers can treat these blocks as “wide streets” or streets larger than 100 feet, allowing for an increase in permitted floor area and height.

The City Planning Commission approved the amendment without change despite developer William Stein’s request that it exempt his project at 360 Smith Street from any new restrictions on floor area and height. 5 CityLand 90 (July 15, 2008). (more…)

320 Court Street in Carroll Gardens

City Council reacted to application’s inaccurate architectural renderings and restaurant’s history of noise complaints. On August 22, 2012, the City Council denied Buschenschank restaurant’s application for an unenclosed sidewalk cafe at 320 Court Street between Degraw and Sackett Streets in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The application called for 24 tables and 48 chairs fronting Court Street.

At the Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee hearing, a representative of local Council Member Brad Lander and a representative of Brooklyn Community Board 6 testified in opposition. In a statement read by his policy director, Michael Freedman-Schnapp, Council Member Lander urged his colleagues to deny the application. Lander noted that Buschenschank’s application to the City’s Department of Consumer Affairs had inaccurately measured the sidewalk width and had not provided enough pedestrian space between a bike rack and the proposed outdoor cafe. In addition, Lander stated that more than two dozen noise complaints about the restaurant had been registered with 311, and that the NYPD had issued the restaurant a noise violation. (more…)

Council approves waterfront project despite community’s concerns about affordable housing component. On March 11, 2009, the City Council approved Toll Brothers’ proposed development at 363-365 Bond Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The 525,309-sq.ft. development will provide 447 residential units, including 130 affordable units. The project, located on two blocks along the Gowanus Canal, bounded by Carroll, Second, and Bond Streets, includes two five-story buildings, a series of four-story townhouses, and two 12- story buildings fronting the canal. 6 CityLand 4 (Feb. 15, 2009).

At Council’s March 4th Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee hearing, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz called on Toll Brothers to reduce the 12-story buildings to eight stories, so that views from the Carroll Gardens Historic District would remain unobstructed. Markowitz also requested that Toll enter into a legally enforceable commitment to provide the project’s affordable housing component. A representative from Brooklyn Community Board 6 testified that although CB6 conditionally voted to approve the project, it was concerned that the developer had not guaranteed that affordable housing would be built. If the developer could not guarantee affordable housing, CB6 believed the project should be denied. (more…)