Rendering of the proposed six-story building at 2 Howard Avenue in Brooklyn. Image Credit: CPC.

The rezoning will bring two non-applicant properties into zoning compliance but has the Borough President and City Planning Commission concerned that it will also create an opportunity for out-of-context development. On April 24, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to approve an application for a proposed six-story residential and ground floor retail building at 2 Howard Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. To facilitate the project, the applicant is seeking to rezone a portion of Howard Avenue comprised of the applicant’s property and two other properties, from the existing zoning district, R6B/C2-4, which allows for low density residential uses and commercial uses to a C4-4L commercial district that has a higher density residential use allowance. The application would extend the C4-4L commercial district that already exists north of these sites along the Broadway transit corridor over the three properties, better reflecting this area’s existing conditions. As part of the application, the properties would also be designated as Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, with both Options 1 and 2. The application was presented to the City Planning Commission at a public hearing on March 27, 2019, by Lisa Orrantia of Akerman, LLP. (more…)