Revised 840 Atlantic plan on its way, passed by key Council subcommittee, as CM Cumbo ignores CB 8 non-endorsement (despite previous pledge)

Never mind. The 840 Atlantic rezoning, aimed to replace a drive-through McDonald's at Vanderbilt Avenue and adjacent parcels with an 18-story building, is on its way, after all.

After a topsy-turvy week in which 1) a compromise on the rezoning--endorsed by City Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo--was approved overwhelmingly by the Brooklyn Community Board 8 Land Use Committee, then 2) non-endorsed at a vote of the full board, Cumbo ignored the latter and 3) got the compromise passed at a Friday meeting of the Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, a prelude to full approval tomorrow.

(The news was first reported Friday afternoon by The Real Deal, Controversial project replacing Brooklyn McDonald’s poised for approval. At the CB 8 meeting Thursday, there had been no mention of the possibility that the project could return to Council the next day; rather, Monday, Sept. 13, was the seeming target.)

No dimensions--height, square footage--were specified, nor was a rendering released, but the result apparently reflects the last-minute compromise presented to the Land Use Committee by member Gib Veconi, with about a 10% cut in square footage, a commitment to 20% low-income affordable units (54 of 270), 8,000 square feet of low-cost space for an arts center, and 50,000 square feet of commercial space. (See "VAH new 1" in screenshot below.)

That translates into a building, as presented, 195 feet at the corner of Vanderbilt and Atlantic, stepping down to a max of 145 feet to the east. 

(As shown in an earlier massing model, which I annotated with question marks at right, it already had been planned to step down.)

In other words, as I observed, it's a victory for the developer, Vanderbilt Atlantic Holdings, which had previously floated a 7% cut in bulk as well as a willingness to step down the eastern portion of the building along Atlantic Avenue, thus setting a precedent honoring CB 8 guidelines.

Neither its financial assumptions nor its murky ownership were challenged.

Some confusion

What's confusing is that CB 8 had been told that certain aspects of the deal--such as the low-income affordable housing and the arts space--required endorsement by the board to be memorialized--and that didn't happen, given that the full board did not muster a majority in favor, with 14 yes votes, 8 no, and 8 abstentions.

That result was apparently a reaction to the complexity and hastiness of the deal, presented without any renderings, as well as (I speculate) critical comments from state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a Cumbo rival, as well as the board configuration that night, given some 20 members absent.  

Though Community Board votes are only advisory, Cumbo had in 2018 signed an August 2018 letter endorsing CB 8's proposed M-CROWN rezoning, which would limit buildings to 14 stories, as part of a holistic reimaging of an area zoned for manufacturing. 

This past April, in response to not only this but two other ambitious spot rezonings, Cumbo stated, "I will not approve any applications that do not meet the guidelines of the M-CROWN recommendations and the approval of Community Board 8.” 

Had the Council Member held to that, she would have had to endorse a significantly scaled down version of the building, one the developer asserted was not financially viable. See second column below.

Spreadsheet via Gib Veconi. Note that original proposal had 316 units, 95 affordable

In this case, however, CB 8 was apparently seen as cover for Cumbo's shift. 

Presenting the compromise he negotiated with Board Chair Irsa Weatherspoon and Land Use Chair Ethel Tyus, Veconi at the Land Use Committee meeting said “the Community Board's opinion will have a large effect on the City Council Member’s opinion,” but Tyus later said that adding density beyond M-CROWN “is something Majority Leader Cumbo is willing to give to this applicant, in exchange for the additional affordable units.”

Veconi at the Land Use Committee meeting noted that the board had not previously gotten developers to commit to low-income affordable units. That said, the motion CB 8 previously passed, thus on the table at Council, also urged such affordable units, albeit as part of a smaller building. 

At the Council Subcommittee

The presentation and vote took less than five minutes, starting at 3:55 of the meeting (video).

Cumbo was not present, but the action was read by Chair Francisco Moya. 

"Further east along Atlantic from this corner site the easternmost 50 feet of the rezoning area will be modified to a C6-2A district to establish consistency with the M-CROWN community plan framework developed in cooperation between Community Board 8, and the Department of City Planning," he read.

That was somewhat disingenuous, because CB 8 and DCP have been at odds, with the latter encouraging a greater level of development than the board's framework, and also highlighting that corner parcel--which was not singled out by the board for special treatment.

"That framework calls for higher density specifically at the corner of Vanderbilt and Atlantic Avenue, which is in close proximity of the high density Pacific Park development to the west," Moya read, "along with the lower density going east along the Atlantic corridor to match the medium-density character of Bedford Stuyvesant, and Crown Heights."

In other words, the expected density of the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park towers approved to be built along Atlantic Avenue to the west is a justification, though it's not certain that they will be built, since they require an expensive deck. 

(Note: though the Real Deal article stated that the building's density, in Floor Area Ratio, "will be between 7.6 and 8.1, depending on which of two slightly different alternative plans makes it through the Council," the lower-density version is the one Cumbo endorsed, given that it includes 54 affordable units.) 

Cumbo's statement

Cumbo, said Moya, supports the modified proposal. He then read her statement.

"I am pleased to state my support for the 840 Atlantic Avenue development and encourage my colleagues to support the application with modifications and commitments from the applicant."

"840 Atlantic Avenue presents a rare opportunity to secure truly affordable housing, and an affordable, long term home for a beloved local arts organization and job generating commercial space on a site that is currently home only to a parking lot and fast food restaurant."

Three other buildings are part of the site. As stated by the City Planning Commission:

Lots 1, 68, and 71 contain a McDonalds drive-through fast-food establishment with an accessory parking area. Lots 69 and 70 each contain two- and three-story residential buildings located along Pacific Street flanked by the McDonalds parking area. Fronting on Atlantic Avenue, Lot 9 contains an open storage area and Lot 10 contains a three-story mixed-use building with a ground floor eating and drinking establishment and residential use above.

More from Cumbo: "The zoning modification will help better align the application with local community planning goals by establishing transitions away from this high-density intersection to the lower density part of the neighborhood."

"The developer has committed to the following community benefits, using the deeply affordable MIH [Mandatory Inclusionary Housing] option to provide 54 permanently affordable units at 40% of AMI [Area Median Income], for families making between $30,000 and $50,000."

"Second, 8,000 square feet of permanent affordable space for nonprofit arts organizations, which will provide a long term home for the Jamel Gaines Creative Ooutlet dance company; 50,000 square feet for the commercial space to support local employment opportunities, and a mixed-use, walk to work neighborhood."

"The developer has also come to an agreement with [building service workers union] 32BJ to provide good building service jobs, and will retain Team Brown Consulting to develop a local hiring and sourcing plan. I urge my colleagues to support this plan with them, with these modifications and benefits."

The vote passed unanimously, without debate.

As I noted, even approval by Council may not ensure a timely start, given that McDonald's is in court battling its landlord. That said, progress on the rezoning may spur settlement discussions.