Sunset Park

Split Court Upholds Sunset Park Rezoning Plan [UPDATE: Court of Appeals Affirms]

This article was originally published on 10/15/2011 (see below for update).

Dissent argued that City only belatedly added consideration of rezoning’s impact on low-income residents. In April 2009, the Department of City Planning proposed a 128-block contextual rezoning of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Planning sought to preserve the residential neighborhood’s built character while allowing new construction at a height and scale consistent with existing development. The proposal called for establishing height limits, mapping new … <Read More>

Sunset Park rezoning challenge dismissed

Community groups had claimed City should have conducted a detailed environmental review for 128-block rezoning. In April 2009, the Department of City Planning proposed a 128-block rezoning in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The rezoning sought to prevent out-of-scale development in the residential neighborhood by applying contextual zoning districts, establishing height limits, and mapping commercial overlays on appropriate blocks to match the area’s built character. The plan included applying the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program provisions to create … <Read More>

Sunset Park 197-a plan OK’d

The City Planning Commission had refused recommendation to relocate sanitation garage on the 52nd Street Pier. On December 21, 2009, the City Council approved Brooklyn Community Board 7’s comprehensive plan to improve the Sunset Park waterfront, known as “New Connections/ New Opportunities – Sunset Park 197-a Plan.” The waterfront is zoned primarily for manufacturing uses and fell into disrepair in the 1960s and 1970s. The City owns most of the waterfront property.

CB7 began the … <Read More>

Sunset Park Community Board’s 197-a Plan heard

Community board puts forward its own plan to revitalize industrial waterfront. On October 7, 2009, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on Brooklyn Community Board 7’s plan to revitalize the Sunset Park waterfront. The plan is permitted under section 197-a of the City Charter, which authorizes community boards to propose a framework for future development in their districts. CB7 developed the comprehensive proposal over a thirteen-year period with input from local residents, businesses, and civic … <Read More>

Sunset Park rezoning approved

Community groups expressed concern that 128-block rezoning would displace low-income residents. On September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 128 blocks of Brooklyn’s Sunset Park in order to address recent out-of-scale development inconsistent with the area’s predominantly residential character. The plan replaces the neighborhood’s R6 zoning with contextual zoning districts — R4A, R4-1, R6B, R6A, and R7A — that match the area’s context and also establish maximum … <Read More>

Sunset Park rezoning plan sent to Council

128-block rezoning would establish height limits in Sunset Park. On August 5, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal for Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. The majority of the 128-block rezoning area is bounded by 40th Street to the north, the Gowanus Expressway to the south, Eighth Avenue to the east, and Third Avenue to the west, with a small area to the north, bounded by 29th and 37th Streets, and … <Read More>