A picture from Atlantic and Franklin Avenue, that could be redesigned following a community-led proposal currently seeking feedback and ideas. Image Credit: NYC DCP.
The series of meetings start this week and aims to help shape a future formal rezoning for 2024. On February 10, 2023, Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick and Council Member Crystal Hudson announced a series of three public group meetings for the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan to be held this week.
The Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan is a community-led proposal to help change a stretch of 13 blocks along Atlantic Avenue from Vanderbilt to Nostrand Avenue into a mixed-use neighborhood. The plan would bring housing, infrastructure improvements and commercial and industrial jobs to currently underdeveloped blocks. The current zoning has remained mostly unchanged from 1961, and currently does not allow for the construction of new housing and generally limits new commercial and industrial buildings to one- or two- story buildings that must accommodate a lot of parking. The meetings are designed to gather public feedback to shape future rezoning plans for the area. A formal proposal that will undergo the public review process is expected for 2024.
The in-person meetings will be held at PS 9, the Sarah Smith Garnet School at 80 Underhill Avenue from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. Each meeting will focus on a specific topic. Today, February 13th, the meeting will focus on creating housing and affordable housing. The meeting on Wednesday, February 15th will focus on job creation and support services. The meeting on Thursday, February 16th will focus on infrastructure and public spaces. To register for these meetings, click here. For more information about the plan, click here.
The series follows a kick-off meeting held in January that drew over 200 attendees. Brooklyn Community Board 8 has been working with the Department of City Planning and community members since 2016 to help develop a shared vision for the neighborhood.
Director Garodnick stated, “These public working meetings seek to bring New Yorkers together to re-imagine the future of this section of Atlantic Avenue as one that connects rather than divides diverse and thriving communities. Join us as we get connected!”
Council Member Hudson stated, “The start of the Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use Plan (AAMUP) working group meetings mark the beginning of an exciting and dynamic process that will yield tangible, community-developed plans that will help us create a more vibrant and inclusive Atlantic Avenue corridor. I’m eager to see the vision our community puts forth, and I encourage all of my neighbors living in Community Boards 2, 3, and 8 to join these meetings and make their voices heard!”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)