City Planning Commission Considers Rezoning Near Brooklyn Botanical Garden

Rendering of proposed buildings at 931 Carroll Street and 40 Crown Street. Image Credit: CP VI Crown Heights, LLC/NYC CPC.

If approved, the rezoning will make way for construction of over 500 new apartments in Crown Heights. On September 26, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a rezoning application for Franklin Avenue in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. The rezoning would allow construction of two new 16-story buildings at 40 Crown Street and 931 Carroll Street. Both buildings are a block east of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

Ray Levin of Slater & Beckerman, Matthew Feldman of Carmel Partners, and David Velez presented the application on behalf of CP6 Crown Heights LLP, created by Carmel Partners. Carmel owns 40 Crown Street. Cornell Realty Management is another applicant, which owns 931 Carroll Street.

The proposed rezoning will be bounded by both sides of Carroll Street to the north, Montgomery Street to the south, Franklin Avenue to the east, and a line 300 feet westerly of Franklin Avenue between Franklin and Washington Avenues to the west. The rezoning application would affect 16 lots. 931 Carroll Street is on the northern edge, and 40 Crown Street is on the southern edge of the proposed rezoning area.

The 16 lots are currently zoned for residential use with a commercial overlay for a building up to 70 feet tall with a maximum FAR of 3.0. The current rezoning would allow up to 280 apartments in total between two new buildings. The proposed zoning change would allow developers to construct the buildings of 150 feet in height with a maximum FAR of 6.02 and make way for an additional 240 apartments between the two buildings.

Map detailing the proposed rezoning area in blue. Image Credit: CP VI Crown Heights, LLC/NYC CPC

The current zoning would not subject the buildings to any mandatory housing provisions if the buildings are built as of right. The applicants, however, are asking to designate a new Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) area under Option 1, which requires a minimum of 25 percent of the total residential floor area as affordable housing at 60 percent AMI. The applicants were also seeking that approximately 140 of the 518 total units would be affordable housing. According to the applicants, both the affordable and market rate units would be subject to rent stabilization guidelines and mandatory lease renewals.

The 40 Crown Street building will have 285 market rate units and 105 permanently affordable units. The permanently affordable units will be five studio apartments, 42 one-bedroom apartments, 37 2-bedroom apartments, and 21 three-bedroom apartments. The lot is currently vacant. The building will include an off-street accessory parking garage in the lower level with 190 spaces, with open space on the street level above the parking. The building will also include ground-floor commercial space on Franklin Avenue.

The 931 Carroll Street building will have 93 market rate apartments and 35 permanently affordable units. The permanently affordable units will include two studio apartments, 14 one-bedroom apartments, twelve two-bedroom apartments, and seven three-bedroom apartments. The building will also have an off-street accessory parking garage in the basement with 64 spaces and some open space at the street level.

The permanently affordable units would have a range of affordability from 40 to 100 percent AMI.

To qualify for an apartment at 40 percent AMI, an individual would require a maximum income of $29,240 and a family of four would require a maximum income of $41,720. There will be 55 apartments available at 40 percent AMI, with three studios, 22 one-bedroom apartments, 19 two-bedroom apartments, and 11 three-bedroom apartments. At this level of affordability, a studio apartment would cost $524 per month, a one-bedroom apartment would cost $667 per month, a two-bedroom would cost $810 per month, and a three-bedroom would cost $929 per month.

To qualify for an apartment at 60 percent AMI, an individual would require a maximum income of $43,860 and a family of four would require a maximum income of $62,580. There will be 56 apartments available at 60 percent AMI, with three studios, 22 one-bedroom apartments, 20 two-bedroom apartments, and eleven three-bedroom apartments. At this level of affordability, a studio apartment would cost $837 per month, a one-bedroom apartment would cost $1,058 per month, a two-bedroom would cost $1,280 per month, and a three-bedroom would cost $1,472 per month.

To qualify for an apartment at 100 percent AMI, an individual would require a maximum income of $73,100 and a family of four would require a maximum income of $104,300. There will be 29 apartments available at 100 percent AMI, with one studio, twelve one-bedroom apartments, ten two-bedroom apartments, and six three-bedroom apartments. At this level of affordability, a studio apartment would cost $1,510 per month, a one-bedroom apartment would cost $1,900 per month, a two-bedroom would cost $2,289 per month, and a three-bedroom would cost $2,638 per month.

On June 26, 2018, Brooklyn Community Board 9 held a public hearing for the application. Members of the public voiced concerns about the shadow study and overcrowding on the subways in the area. On the same day, Brooklyn Community Board 9 voted to disapprove the application with zero votes in favor, 17 votes opposed and seven abstaining.

On September 27, 2018, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams disapproved of the application with modifications requesting that the height be reduced, density increased with an appropriate percentage of affordable housing and asking for commitments from the developer. According to Borough President Adams’ recommendation, MIH Option 3 would “provide the most opportunity for very low-income households to secure permanently affordable housing in the neighborhood” because it would provide deeper affordability. However, MIH Option 3 only requires 20 percent of the total residential floor area to be used for affordable housing at 40 percent AMI.

At the City Planning public hearing, Jeffrey Davis, a local resident and community activist, spoke in support of the project, stating that the neighborhood was in need of affordable housing. Davis discussed how some working people in the area currently had no option but to live in shelters and that affordable housing would help those families.

Several speakers in opposition voiced concerns about how the project would affect the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, one block away from the project sites. Brent Porter, an Adjust Professor at Pratt Institute, testified that the projected shadows from this development and any future developments as a result of this rezoning would have an impact on the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for six months out of the year.

Maxine Barnes, a local resident and member of Flower Lovers Advocating for Community and the Movement to Protect the People, testified that the City Planning Commission should disapprove of the application because the Department of City Planning had previously rezoned the area to protect the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. According to Barnes, in 1991 the Department of City Planning conducted a rezoning study to rezone the Washington Avenue area, which included the currently proposed rezoning location. Barnes testified that the area was rezoned in 1991 specifically with consideration for shadows cast by tall buildings on the Brooklyn Botanical Garden after a shadow study was completed. According to Barnes, as a result of the shadow study, height restrictions were put into place that limited buildings to a maximum of twelve stories.

No representatives from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden testified at the public hearing.

On October 31, 2018, the City Planning Commission voted to approve the proposed rezoning applications. City Council will review and vote on the applications.

By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw Fellow and a New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2018.