Rendering of 534 Coney Island Avenue. Image Credit: NYC DCP.
On August 23, 2023, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for the 534 Coney Island Avenue project, an application that would enable the construction of a mixed commercial and residential use building in the Flatbush and Kensington area of Brooklyn. The proposed building site is currently a fast-food restaurant. The applicant seeks to rezone part of the block surrounded by Hinckley Place to the north, Coney Island Avenue to the east, Beverly Road to the south, and East 8th Street to the west. Middle School 890 is located across Hinckley Place from the proposed site.
The eleven- story building will have approximately 43 units, eleven of which will be permanently affordable under mandatory inclusive housing (MIH). While a specific option for MIH was not selected, the affordable units are set to be between 60 and 80 percent area median income (AMI).
The building will also include approximately 3000 square feet of commercial floor space.
The current zoning limits building heights to four stories. Rezoning will remove that restriction to allow for the taller proposed eleven story building. The rezoning will also allow for more ground-level commercial space.
On June 20, 2023, Brooklyn Community Board 12 voted to conditionally approve the application with a vote of 32 for and two against. In its approval, the Community Board noted that it heard “a lot of concerns” regarding the height of the proposed building. The Community Board approved the application on the condition that the proposed building be no taller than 70 feet, which is similar to surrounding building heights.
On August 11, 2023, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso approved the application without comment.
At the public hearing, members of the public testified both for and against the project. Arguments for rezoning highlighted a dire need for housing in the area. Arguments against rezoning pondered whether the building’s tenants would stress local transportation infrastructure and noted that the desired eleven-story proposal is still taller than the Community Board’s 70-foot height condition. The proposed building may cast a shadow over surrounding buildings, including Middle School 890.
Commissioner Leah Goodridge inquired about ways to reduce the proposed building height, such as by reducing the height of the commercial floor space. The applicant team responded that it is and will continue to consider ways to reduce the proposed building height.
The City Planning Commission will vote on this application at a later date.
By: Nick Negron (Nick is a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2023.)
This area, and up and down coney island ave, starting from caton ave all the way through need to have much much more truly affordable housing units, that area is has become very expensive to live there, I hope more truly affordable housing units are built on coney island ave