FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 18, 2004
CONTACT: Rachaele
Raynoff, Press Secretary -- (212) 720-3471
CITY PLANNING CERTIFIES
ZONING PROPOSAL TO PRESERVE CHARACTER OF
BAY RIDGE, BROOKLYN
October 18, 2004 – City Planning Director Amanda
M. Burden announced the official start of public review
for a rezoning that would protect the character of 249
blocks in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. The proposed
rezoning represents a fine-grained approach that reflects
the varied character of this neighborhood. It would
provide protections against out-of-scale development
on Bay Ridge’s unique limestone townhouse blocks
and it would also triple the number of blocks –
those characterized predominantly by detached houses
– where only this type of housing would be permitted.
In other parts of the neighborhood, the proposed zoning
is also closely tailored to the prevailing neighborhood
context, allowing opportunities for apartment house
construction with ground floor retail on the neighborhood’s
main thoroughfares. This is the largest such initiative
to date in Brooklyn and it builds on the Bloomberg administration’s
commitment to protect the City’s primarily low
density neighborhoods by ensuring that new development
reinforces, and does not undermine, the neighborhood
fabric.
"In the face of growing concerns that out-of-character
development is overwhelming the neighborhood, we are
proposing new zoning tailored to ensure that new development
will better reflect the prevailing nature of the buildings
on each block," said Ms. Burden. "While
the current zoning rules prevent apartment towers from
being developed, they do not prohibit out-of-character
development. The new zoning will provide these protections.
For example, on blocks characterized by single family
detached homes, the new zoning will no longer permit
their demolition and replacement with multi-family buildings."
The area to be rezoned is in southwestern Brooklyn’s
Community District 10 and covers the area between 65th
Street on the north, Shore Road and the Narrows waterway
to the south and west, and Seventh Avenue and the Gowanus
Expressway to the east. The recent proliferation on
detached house blocks of multi-family housing, characterized
by some as "Fedders buildings" for the name
on the air-conditioning sleeves, prompted local officials
to request that Department of City Planning (DCP) study
the area. The zoning proposal resulting from that study
will:
- Preserve neighborhood character by reducing the
permitted density on over half of the neighborhood
blocks and maintaining existing height and bulk protections
on the remainder
- Impose new height restrictions throughout the district
- Retain provisions of the existing special district
that limit the height of community facilities and
mandate street tree planting with new construction
- Map districts allowing only detached housing on
42 blocks and on 59 blocks map districts allowing
semi-detached housing.
- Reinforce Third, Fourth and Fifth Avenues as corridors
for mid-rise mixed retail/residential buildings.
- Support commercial and medical office development
in the neighborhood’s commercial core south
of 86th Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues
The community board now has 60 days to review the proposal,
after which it will go to the Borough President, the
City Planning Commission and the City Council as part
of the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure
(ULURP). More details on the ULURP
timeline is available on the DCP website.
City Planning
The Department of City Planning is responsible for the
City's physical and socioeconomic planning, including
land use and environmental review; preparation of plans
and policies; and provision of technical assistance
and planning information to government agencies, public
officials, and community boards.
Return to
the Press Release Archive |
