Stephen Levin, District 33 Council Member. (Official NYC Council Photo by William Alatriste)

District 33 – Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, parts of Williamsburg, Park Slope, Boerum Hill

Council Member Stephen Levin grew up just outside of New York City, in Plainfield, New Jersey. He knew he wanted to be in Brooklyn even while he was attending Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. To get there though, he dabbled with various jobs including working as a waiter (he was fired), a book store clerk, and an artist’s assistant. About a year after graduation from Brown, he was living in Bushwick, Brooklyn and starting his political career, although maybe he didn’t quite know it at the time. He got his first advocacy experience at the Lead Safe House Program in Brooklyn, which gets children with elevated lead levels out of danger and into a safe space. Levin ran the program and worked with families and building owners from across the borough, as well as State and City agencies. He also helped families tackle various other issues, such as education and health, during their stay at the Lead Safe House. Seeing families through a sometimes difficult bureaucratic process, he couldn’t help but make the connection between government policy and effective direct service. It was here that he first thought that if the opportunity to actually conceive and implement good policies presented itself, he would take it.

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Developer agreed to increase affordable housing and provide additional three- and four-bedroom affordable units. On April 14, 2010, the City Council modified Isack Rosenberg’s proposal to build a multi-tower mixed-use development along the Brooklyn waterfront at 470 Kent Avenue. Known as Rose Plaza on the River, the project’s 3.7-acre site is bordered by the Schaefer Landing housing development to the north and Division Avenue to the south. The project will feature three residential towers rising to heights of 18, 25, and 29 stories. Rosenberg’s original proposal called for 801 residential units, twenty percent of which would be set aside for affordable studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments; 33,000 sq.ft. of public waterfront; and 29,000 sq.ft. of retail.

The project drew criticism from Brooklyn Community Board 1, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and local Council Member Stephen Levin. They argued that Rosenberg needed to increase the plan’s affordable housing component and build more affordable three- and four-bedroom apartments in exchange for the economic benefits derived from the project. (read more…)

Image: Courtesy of Gruzen Samton LLP

Opponents of proposed Williamsburg waterfront development wanted more affordable housing. On March 8, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved Rose Plaza on the River LLC’s proposed mixed-use development along Williamsburg’s East River waterfront at 470 through 490 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn. The project, known as Rose Plaza on the River, would provide approximately 800 residential units in three towers on a site currently occupied by storage and wholesale distribution businesses, and a lumber yard.

A 25-story tower on the site’s southern portion at the corner of Division and Kent Avenues would provide 309 residential units and 29,000 sq.ft. of retail space. South 11th Street, which currently ends at Kent Avenue, would be extended across the site providing a 60-foot wide visual corridor to the waterfront. North of the visual corridor, the developer would construct an eighteen-story building along Kent Avenue with 221 dwelling units. A 29-story building would provide 271 dwelling units on the site’s northern portion. Twenty percent of the project’s floor area would be set aside for affordable housing, which would result in 160 affordable one-, two-, and three-bedroom units located throughout the three buildings. A waterfront esplanade would include 33,188 sq.ft. of publicly accessible open space, and an underground garage would provide 496 parking spaces. (read more…)

Rose Plaza on the River, the project’s 3.7-acre site is bordered by the Schaefer Landing housing development to the north and Division Avenue to the south.

Developer agreed to increase affordable housing and provide additional three and four-bedroom affordable units. On April 14, 2010, the City Council modified Isack Rosenberg’s proposal to build a multi-tower mixed-use development along the Brooklyn waterfront at 470 Kent Avenue. Known as Rose Plaza on the River, the project’s 3.7-acre site is bordered by the Schaefer Landing housing development to the north and Division Avenue to the south.

The project will feature three residential towers rising to heights of 18, 25, and 29 stories. Rosenberg’s original proposal called for 801 residential units, twenty percent of which would be set aside for affordable studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments; 33,000 sq.ft. of public waterfront; and 29,000 sq.ft. of retail. The project drew criticism from Brooklyn Community Board 1, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and local Council Member Stephen Levin. They argued that Rosenberg needed to increase the plan’s affordable housing component and build more affordable three- and four-bedroom apartments in exchange for the economic benefits derived from the project. (read more…)