The New York City City Planning Commission (CPC) on Wednesday approved two major Brooklyn rezoning plans, and heard testimony on a possible casino project in Coney Island.
The commission approved the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan, which would rezone 21 blocks of Atlantic between Vanderbilt and Nostrand Avenues. The project will usher in about 4,600 new apartments (1,400 of which would be affordable through Mandatory Inclusionary Housing) and over 900,000-square-feet of office space.
City Planning Commissioner Director Dan Garodnick celebrated the passage of the plan, which is expected to create about 2,800 new jobs in the area. The neighborhood's existing zoning is “restrictive,” which has left it “unequipped” to deal with the demand for housing, he said.
The plan was approved by a 11-2 vote, with Commissioners Leah Goodridge and Juan Osorio voting against the rezoning.
Osorio said “defaulting to MIH wasn’t enough” to secure affordable housing, and that small industries will eventually move further out in the borough, or into low-income and communities of color that already shoulder a disproportionate environmental impact.
The CPC also approved to rezone 73-99 Empire Blvd. in Crown Heights. Bridges Development Group sought approval to build a 13-story mixed-use apartment complex. The development would have 261 apartments, 78 of which would be affordable or rent- stabilized units.
Michael Berfield, a principal at Bridges Development Group, told BK Reader in an email that the project was a “win-win" for the community.
“Whether it's affordable housing or the commercial space, we believe this project will go a long way to helping revitalize Empire Boulevard,” Berfield said.
Some residents, however, had noted that the building's affordable units would not be affordable for current area tenants, and that the tall structure would cast shadows.
Area resident Alicia Boyd, who testified against the project at a Community Board 9 meeting last month, told BK Reader in an email that the new apartment complex will "encourage more displacement and gentrification in one of the last truly affordable communities in central Brooklyn."
Berfield said the environmental review process "made clear that the building’s potential shadows are not considered significant." That said, he also said the firm "understand[s] the community’s concerns and will continue working on the design of the project to hopefully further minimize any shadows caused by the project.”
Finally, the CPC heard a draft environmental impact statement about The Coney, a casino project in Coney Island. Developers are looking to get a portion of Bowery Street demapped to allow them to construct a sky bridge between buildings and build on Bowery Street.
When asked by Osorio about flood mitigation plans, architect Dan Kaplan, a senior partner at FXCollaborative, said the development will have a refuge shelter on the third floor of a parking lot. During construction, the grade would be increased, creating an artificial hill that would mitigate flooding, he said.
Marissa Solomon, a volunteer docent at the Coney Island Museum who spoke out against the plan, referred to the project as “The Phoney.” She said the street demapping will bring in "an incredible increase in traffic, noise, pollution and crime.”
“When that happens, those who can afford to move away from the area will and the dollars they spend in local stores will move with them,” Solomon said. “This is exactly what happened in Atlantic City.”
Anthony Batista, a member of Community Board 13, contended that if the demapping is not approved, The Coney's alternative plan would be much larger. Batista said that he still supports the project as it would bring jobs to Coney Island, which suffers from a high poverty rate.
