(l. to r.) Mitchell Hirth, Fran Schwartz, and Dan Egers testify on behalf of the proposed Fort Hamilton Parkway rezoning. Image credit: NYC.gov

Applicant seeks to build a six-story community facility for women’s health.  On February 24, 2015 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises approved an application by Fort Hamilton, LLC to rezone the north side of Fort Hamilton Parkway between 53rd Street and 55th Street in Borough Park, Brooklyn. The application rezones the area from its current R5 to an R6 district with a C1-3 overlay, and is intended to facilitate construction of a six-story women’s wellness center with partial ground floor retail. The application was approved by the City Planning Commission on January 7, 2015, following approvals from Brooklyn Community Board 12 and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

(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…)

Architect rendering of the proposed Astoria Cove development project. Image Credit: Studio V

Council Members questioned the developers on the project’s affordability and use of union labor. On October 20, 2014 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on the proposed Astoria Cove development project. The project, which would create a new mixed-use development of 1,700 apartments, commercial space, a school, a supermarket, and parks, was approved by the City Planning Commission over opposition by both Queens Community Board 1 and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.

(more…)

Community and labor groups supported project, but sought assurances that Brooklyn Navy Yard would not lease space to Wal-Mart. On November 29, 2011, the City Council approved the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation’s Admirals Row Plaza project at the corner of Nassau and Navy Streets in Brooklyn. The six-acre site is located at the southeast edge of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, near the New York City Housing Authority’s Farragut, Ingersoll, and Whitman Houses.

The mixed-use project includes the construction of three new buildings and the rehabilitation of two of the site’s existing, but severely deteriorated, historic structures. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation will convert an 1830s Timber Shed and a Civil War-era Naval Officers’ Quarters into retail and community facility use, respectively. A new five-story building will provide space for a supermarket and light manufacturing uses. Two other two-story buildings will provide retail space, and a 266-space parking lot will occupy the site’s interior.

The project required approvals to allow the City to acquire the federally owned property, and to then lease it to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation applied to rezone the property from M1-2 to M1-4 and requested special permits for signage and parking.  (more…)