Crown Heights West
The Department of City Planning (DCP) is proposing changes for a 55-block area in the western part of the Crown Heights neighborhood in Community District 8, Brooklyn. This contextual zoning study was undertaken at the request of Community Board 8 and local elected officials in response to concerns that existing zoning allows out-of-scale development that does not reflect the historic rowhouse character of the Crown Heights neighborhood. The rezoning also responds to requests by the community and elected officials for incentives to encourage the development of affordable housing in the neighborhood.

Sustainable Communities
The Department of City Planning is participating in an unprecedented, bi-state collaboration of cities, counties and regional planning organzations who have united  to form the New York-Connecticut Sustainable Communities Consortium.  The Consortium was awarded $3.5 million in funding in the inaugural year of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program. The consortium will undertake a combination of regionally and locally oriented initiatives to promote sustainable, transit-oriented development throughout the region. Initiatives DCP leads under the Sustainable Communities program include three studies: a coordinated neighborhood planning study in East New York, Brooklyn; an evaluation of  land use and transportation opportunities near Metro-North Stations in the Bronx; and several activities to advance citywide strategic planning efforts for building climate resilience.

Downtown Brooklyn Parking Text Amendment Adopted 12/10/12
The Department of City Planning (DCP) is proposing a zoning text amendment to modify the parking requirements for portions of the Special Downtown Brooklyn District. The proposal would reduce by half the amount of parking that residential developments are required to provide to better reflect actual parking demand in Downtown Brooklyn. It would also encourage affordable and mixed-income housing by eliminating parking requirements for affordable housing units. Finally, the proposed zoning text amendment would simplify the parking regulations in the Special Downtown Brooklyn District to provide for additional public parking for use by residents, employees and visitors. The proposed actions respond to concerns of the Downtown Brooklyn business community and comments from local elected officials and community members that current parking regulations in this transit-rich central business district were out of step with current usage.