
Rendering of 3901 9th Avenue. Image credit: CPC/Sheldon Lobel P.C.
Rezoning application will allow new residential building and bring non-conforming buildings to conformity. On August 22, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the 3901 9th Avenue Rezoning application submitted by 39 Group Inc. and represented by Matthew Schommer of Sheldon Lobel P.C. The applicants are proposing to a new building at the corner of 9th Avenue and 39th Street on the Sunset Park and Borough Park border in Brooklyn. (more…)
Community groups expressed concern that 128-block rezoning would displace low-income residents. On September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 128 blocks of Brooklyn’s Sunset Park in order to address recent out-of-scale development inconsistent with the area’s predominantly residential character. The plan replaces the neighborhood’s R6 zoning with contextual zoning districts — R4A, R4-1, R6B, R6A, and R7A — that match the area’s context and also establish maximum height limits. The plan includes applying R6B zoning to portions of 121 residential side streets and rezoning 101 partial commercial blocks along Fourth and Seventh Avenues to R7A. To promote the construction of affordable housing, the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program will apply to the R7A district.
At the City Planning Commission’s July 1 hearing, representatives of the Sunset Park Alliance of Neighbors (SPAN) testified in opposition. They claimed that Planning did not properly consider the potential displacement of current residents. Residents argued that height limits along the avenues were too high and would block views of downtown Brooklyn. The Commission approved the plan without modifications, noting that it had been refined through a thorough public review. 6 CityLand 122 (Sept. 15, 2009). (more…)

Map of Industry City Complex/Image Credit: Industry City Brochure
Despite two years of discussion, Industry City ownership unable to convince Council Member Menchaca and Community Board 7 to support expansion. On February 19, 2020, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for four land use actions to expand bulk and use requirements for Industry City, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Industry City is a 5.3 million square feet mixed-use complex comprised of sixteen buildings with commercial, manufacturing, and community facility uses. Industry Park is located in an area bounded by 32nd Street to the north, 41st Street to the south, Third Avenue to the east, and the Brooklyn Waterfront to the west. The proposed actions will facilitate and support the redevelopment and expansion of Industry City. Industry City plans to construct three new buildings on the complex and include hotels, office spaces, academic centers, and more large scale retail establishments.
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Advocacy group selects areas in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island as meriting preservation attention in 2013. The Historic Districts Council announced its “Six to Celebrate” list of preservation priorities on January 3, 2013. The areas identified by HDC consist of the Bronx Parks System, Manhattan’s East Village/Lower East Side and Tribeca neighborhoods, Brooklyn’s Greenpoint and Sunset Park neighborhoods, and Harrison Street in Staten Island.
The six areas were chosen from applications submitted by neighborhood groups around the city. The selected preservation targets will be commemorated at an event held by HDC on January 29, 2013. (more…)