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.

Gowanus Canal Corridor Study
The Department of City Planning has initiated a study of the Gowanus Canal corridor to establish a comprehensive framework to guide future land use changes. This effort responds to requests from the local community to establish a dialogue on land use issues in the Gowanus Canal area.

Downtown Brooklyn Pedestrian Study
The Department of City Planning has undertaken a study to formulate recommendations for improving the pedestrian experience in Downtown Brooklyn and the surrounding neighborhoods with clearer, easier, more pedestrian-friendly connections.

Special 4th Avenue Enhanced Commercial District Adopted 11/29/11
The Department of City Planning is proposing a zoning text amendment and zoning map change to create the Special Fourth Avenue Enhanced Commercial District for the portion of Fourth Avenue from Atlantic Avenue to 24th Street in Brooklyn Community Districts 2, 6 and 7. The proposed special district would ensure the continued development of Fourth Avenue as a lively, mixed use neighborhood by establishing regulations to promote a vibrant mix of retail, commercial and community facility uses on the ground floor of new developments and enlargements, and would apply certain streetscape and sidewalk continuity guidelines to enhance the pedestrian environment.

Boerum Hill Rezoning Adopted 9/21/11
In response to requests from the local community, local elected officials and Brooklyn Community Board 2, the Department of City Planning is proposing zoning map changes for 31 blocks of the Boerum Hill neighborhood. The proposed rezoning would replace the existing R6 and R7B zoning districts with contextual R6A, R6B and R7A zoning districts and would map new commercial overlays to maintain the neighborhood’s character and support the neighborhood’s mixed-use corridors.

Culver El Rezoning Adopted 10/27/10
At the request of local elected officials, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Department of City Planning (DCP) are proposing several actions to facilitate the Culver El Proposal. The Proposal would map lower- , mid-density and contextual zoning districts on all or portions of seven blocks and facilitate the development of 68 units of affordable housing and 48 accessory parking spaces for neighborhood community facilities in the Greenwood Heights section of Brooklyn’s Community District 12.