The de Blasio administration furthers efforts to create more public park space for the North Brooklyn community. On October 31, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he will allocate $17.5 million for the development and remediation of two parcels of parkland at Bushwick Inlet Park. $7.7 million of the allocated funds will go towards developing the 50 Kent site into a new park while the remaining $9.8 million will go toward the remediation … <Read More>
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams
Mayor Announces Permanently Car-Free Prospect Park
Prospect Park’s entire loop drive will be permanently car-free as of January 2, 2018. On October 23, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans for the closure of Prospect Park’s East Drive to vehicles. The announcement follows the success of the Park’s car-free summer when East Drive was closed from July 17 to September 11. After Labor Day weekend, a petition with over 1,100 signatures to continue the car-free program was received. The Park’s … <Read More>
City Planning Approves Eight-Story Building in Bedford-Stuyvesant
The City Planning Commission approved a new eight-story mixed-use building with 75 units in Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. On October 4, 2017, the New York City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application for a zoning map and zoning text amendment to facilitate the development of an eight-story mixed-use building consisting of 81,951 square feet of residential space for 75 residential units. The applicant, JMS Realty Corp., proposed that the site be up-zoned and designated … <Read More>
Mixed-Use Development to Replace Pfizer Factory Site
A former Pfizer factory site in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn will be redeveloped into 1,146 housing units, 62,810 square feet of commercial space, 26,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space, and 404 parking spaces. On September 19, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on land use applications by Harrison Realty LLC. The land use applications include: (1) a zoning map amendment to change the current manufacturing district into a residential district with … <Read More>
Mayor Urges Emissions Reductions for Existing Buildings
Mayor Bill de Blasio calls for emissions reductions by mandating improvements to existing buildings. On June 2, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed Executive Order No. 26, Climate Action Executive Order, to commit New York City to the principles and goals of the Paris Agreement. On September 14, 2017, the Office of the Mayor announced new mandates on building upgrades to implement the executive order. According to the Mayor’s press release, these mandates … <Read More>
CPC Approves 45-Year-Old Senior Center’s New Lease
City Planning approved new 20-year lease for a Crown Heights senior center. On September 6, 2017, the City Planning Commission approved an application from the Department for the Aging and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to continue the use of a senior center at 196 Albany Avenue in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood. The application sought a new 20-year lease for the center which has been operating at the site since 1972.