
Image Credit: Magnusson Architecture and Planning/HPD
The shared-use building is expected to be completed in December 2020. On February 6, 2019, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announced that HPD is joining Fifth Avenue Committee, Inc., Brooklyn Public Library, and New York State Homes and Community Renewal in bringing a new, first of its kind, shared-use model building to Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The eight-story building will house both Sunset Park’s new state-of-the-art public library and 49 deeply affordable apartments. The project was financed through $35.5 million in public and private investment.
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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…)

Sunset Park Rezoning used with permission of NYC DCP. All rights reserved.
This article was originally published on 10/15/2011 (see below for update).
Dissent argued that City only belatedly added consideration of rezoning’s impact on low-income residents. In April 2009, the Department of City Planning proposed a 128-block contextual rezoning of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Planning sought to preserve the residential neighborhood’s built character while allowing new construction at a height and scale consistent with existing development. The proposal called for establishing height limits, mapping new commercial overlays to allow a wider range of uses, and applying the inclusionary housing program along certain corridors to encourage the creation of affordable housing and allow increased residential development. After conducting an environmental assessment, Planning determined the rezoning would have no significant adverse impacts and issued a negative declaration. Residents and community groups opposed to the plan claimed that Planning had not adequately considered the rezoning’s socio-economic impact, and argued that it would lead to the displacement of low-income residents. The City Council approved the plan in September 2009.
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Community groups had claimed City should have conducted a detailed environmental review for 128-block rezoning. In April 2009, the Department of City Planning proposed a 128-block rezoning in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The rezoning sought to prevent out-of-scale development in the residential neighborhood by applying contextual zoning districts, establishing height limits, and mapping commercial overlays on appropriate blocks to match the area’s built character. The plan included applying the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program provisions to create affordable housing and increase residential density along two targeted corridors.
Planning conducted an environmental assessment of the proposal and issued a negative declaration. Planning determined that the rezoning would have no significant effect on the environment, and on September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the rezoning. (more…)
The City Planning Commission had refused recommendation to relocate sanitation garage on the 52nd Street Pier. On December 21, 2009, the City Council approved Brooklyn Community Board 7’s comprehensive plan to improve the Sunset Park waterfront, known as “New Connections/ New Opportunities – Sunset Park 197-a Plan.” The waterfront is zoned primarily for manufacturing uses and fell into disrepair in the 1960s and 1970s. The City owns most of the waterfront property.
CB7 began the planning process thirteen years ago. The 256- page plan sets forth recommendations to promote industrial redevelopment and job creation, while also preserving the waterfront’s existing commercial and residential uses. The community board recommended the proposed Bush Terminal Piers waterfront park, expanding bus and ferry service, and relocating a Department of Sanitation garage on the 52nd Street Pier to provide more public parking and open space. Sanitation objected to relocating the garage, however, because it adequately served the needs of Community Districts 7 and 10. 6 CityLand 155 (Nov. 15, 2009). (more…)