From Bklyner: Developers Propose Two 17-Story Towers in Prospect Heights/Crown Heights. CB 8 Says Whoa, Gets Backing From Cumbo

I have an article yesterday in Bklyner, Developers Propose Two 17-Story Towers in Prospect Heights/Crown Heights. CB 8 Says Whoa, Gets Backing From Cumbo, which begins:

Auguring a striking remake of dowdy, underutilized Atlantic Avenue east of Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, developers have proposed two 17-story residential towers, one nearly adjacent to the previously proposed 18-story tower planned for a site occupied mainly by a drive-through McDonald’s.

Such spot rezonings, unveiled at the Community Board 8 Land Use Committee meeting on April 1, have been encouraged by the Department of City Planning (DCP) to deliver significant housing, including affordable units, in an area currently constrained by antiquated manufacturing zoning, Savvy investors have anticipated—or as one board member put it, speculated—that rezonings would boost land value.

But the configuration and scale of the proposed towers—one 21% bulkier than contemplated under the Community Board’s proposed M-CROWN rezoning —combined with the city’s failure to look at the area holistically under M-CROWN, provoked dismay from CB 8 leaders, who, as Bklyner learned, have crucial backup from the local Council Member.

With a more holistic rezoning approach, said Board Chair Ethel Tyus, “you get infrastructure, along with all these big buildings,” citing sewers, parks, and schools. “That is not coming into the picture, the way the community board wants to see it.”

For the rest of the article, go to Bklyner.