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City Planning Commission advances Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan. Two Commissioners vote no, pushing for more affordability and required industrial space.

The City Planning Commission yesterday advanced the gestating Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan, which a city press release (here, and in full below) said:
would create 4,600 new homes ā€” including 1,440 permanently income-restricted, affordable homes ā€” and 2,800 permanent jobs to a roughly 21-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue in Central Brooklyn, including neighboring blocks in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Alongside new housing and jobs, the plan includes significant investments in local infrastructure and amenities, such as new and improved open space and traffic safety improvements. 
Buildings could rise 17 stories on Atlantic Avenue, 11 stories on some perpendicular avenues, and eight stories on inner blocks, as I wrote in previous coverage for City Limits.

That said, the 13-member Commission's vote wasn't unanimous, with two Commissioners saying that, despite their enthusiasm for aspects of the plan, it didn't go far enough to ensure affordable housing or industrial jobs. Other Commissioners, while voting yes, articulated concerns about affordability.

Department of City Planning

That sets up the possibility for future changes when the plan reaches City Council, where 35th District Council Member Crystal Hudson and 36th District Council Member Chi OssƩ will hold sway. That should come in about two months.

For the meeting, check the video here

Chair's support 

Before voting yes, CPC Chair Dan Garodnick, as shown in the above video, said that "restrictive non-residential zoning," in place since the 1960s, "has left the neighborhood unequipped to deal with the high demand to live there."

"To reach those housing numbers," he said, "the city will maximize the number of income-restricted affordable homes that can be built on public sites in the neighborhood." As I reported for City Limits, Hudson seeks more than what's currently proposed.

Garodnick also cited anti-displacement efforts to support renters and homeowners, street safety projects, and improvements at St. Andrew's Playground--actually east of the project boundary--in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Lowry Triangle in Prospect Heights.

Affordability concerns

Commissioner Leah Goodridge, a longtime tenants' rights lawyer, voted no, saying that a yes vote with reservations might not be clear to City Council.

While the project "has many good aspects," Goodridge said that the affordable housing, under the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, was insufficient, given the current likelihood developers would choose the most lucrative option, at 80% of Area Median Income, or AMI.

As I wrote, Brooklyn Community Board 8 conditioned its support for the plan on the city removing the two main MIH options, leaving Option 3, the Deep Affordability Option, in which 20% of units must be affordable to households earning 40% of AMI, or $55,920 a year (as of 2024) for a three-person household. 

DCP also seeks to map Option 1, which requires that 25% of the housing be affordable to households earning 60% of AMI, or around $83,880 a year for three people, and Option 2, with 30% of the units aimed at households earning 80% of AMI, or around $111,840 a year for three.

Option 2 is the most lucrative, with affordable apartments, under 2024 guidelines, renting for up to $2,174 (studio), $2,330 (1-BR), $2,796 (2-BR), and $3,230 (3-BR).

"The number one thing that people express to me," Goodridge, is it's "really a failure of affordable housing" to have $2,100 studios. Moreover, the calculation relies on gross income, "and by the time you you take out taxes," the $87,000 income threshold for a single person under 80% AMI "is $60,000 and so who can really afford $2,100 with that paycheck?"

Regarding plans to fight tenant displacement, Goodrich said, her experience representing those facing eviction is that "the main issue is the rent." So if "you prevent someone's eviction and if the rent still remains too high, their case comes back a year later." 

Her no vote, she said, signaled City Council to deliver deeper affordability options, especially given the elevated rate of eviction for Black families in this "predominantly Black area."

Making industrial space mandatory

Commissioner Juan Camilo Osorio said he agreed with Goodridge that "defaulting to MIH here is
simply not enough." As I reported, he pressed city officials regarding Community Board 8's call to revise MIH with an even deeper affordability option.

Osorio said he supported maximizing affordable housing on public land, a new incentive to create open space via plazas on Atlantic Avenue, a proposed mechanism to manage potential conflicts from integrating residential and non-residential uses, and new anti-displacement efforts.

"But I've decided to vote no unless there's a requirement that a percentage of the building is reserved for industrial uses," he said, echoing concerns from Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso that, in the absence of a requirement, such job-creating uses, including for green jobs, wouldn't happen. (Osorio is a Reynoso appointee.)

"If industrial users cannot compete here for space and need to go elsewhere," Osorio said, "they have no choice than to relocate to the same low-income and communities of color that have historically been disproportionately burdened by environmental justice impacts."

Other concerns

Commissioner Gail Benjamin said she supported the plan because it emerged from "the community," notably Brooklyn CB 8, which began with a rezoning known as M-CROWN.

Regarding incentives to include ground-floor manufacturing, Benjamin said she was pleased to see a modification that requires additional examination of air quality to ensure it didn't impact apartments above. "I'm still not sure how it's going to work," she said, "so I'd like to put it out there and make sure that we continue to be involved with that process."

She also expressed concern about traffic calming on Atlantic Avenue and how new measures would "allow traffic to flow freely" on an important truck route. 

An actual road diet, Benjamin, would be the subject to a separate review, "but I am concerned, particularly since we're putting all of this bulk and height on Atlantic Avenue. that we could be creating an air quality tunnel."

Commissioner Raju Mann, voting yes, said he hoped the Council focuses on the design of Atlantic Avenue and said they should ensure "we unlock every possible City-owned site in the area for affordable housing."

Commissioner Orlando Marin, voting yes, said he concurred with Mann's remarks on affordability. 

Commissioner Raj Rampershad, voting yes, said he aligned himself with the comments from
Benjamin and Mann.

The press release

Mayor Adams Celebrates City Planning Commissionā€™s Approval of Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use-Plan to Create 4,600 New Homes, 2,800 Permanent Jobs
March 19, 2025
Plan to Include Significant Investments in New Public Space and Infrastructure to Build Safer Streets
Plan Now Goes to New York City Council for Review and Final Vote
Announcement Comes as Adams Administration Continues to Advance Bold, Transformational Housing Projects Across Five Boroughs


NEW YORK ā€“ New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) Director and City Planning Commission (CPC) Chair Dan Garodnick today celebrated the CPCā€™s vote in favor of the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan, a community-led proposal that will deliver new housing, jobs, and investments in infrastructure in Brooklyn. The plan would create 4,600 new homes ā€” including 1,440 permanently income-restricted, affordable homes ā€” and 2,800 permanent jobs to a roughly 21-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue in Central Brooklyn, including neighboring blocks in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Alongside new housing and jobs, the plan includes significant investments in local infrastructure and amenities, such as new and improved open space and traffic safety improvements. Todayā€™s announcement comes as the Adams administration continues to address the cityā€™s housing crisis by advancing bold, transformational housing projects across the five boroughs.

ā€œWith todayā€™s vote, we come one step closer to turning the ambitious Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan from a proposal into reality,ā€ said Mayor Adams. ā€œThe plan is a powerful reminder that government is still capable of delivering visionary and vital projects. This community-led proposal will build more affordable housing, create more jobs, and bring more public spaces for working-class families to live, play, and thrive. Across all the five boroughs, our administration is continuing to deliver bold, transformational housing projects that our city needs to build our way out of this generational affordable housing crisis.ā€

ā€œAtlantic Avenue has been held back by outdated zoning for far too long. A central corridor like this should be a vibrant place for residents and workers alike, and thatā€™s exactly what this plan will achieve,ā€ said DCP Director and CPC Chair Garodnick. ā€œWith todayā€™s vote, this Brooklyn community is one step closer to getting affordable homes, jobs, and infrastructure improvements it needs. Thanks to the City Planning Commissioners for their support.ā€

ā€œThank you to the entire team at the Department of City Planning for their outstanding work in reaching this important milestone. The Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan represents a bold vision that will transform this corridor in Central Brooklyn into a dynamic and vibrant community where families can thrive,ā€ said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo CarriĆ³n, Jr. ā€œI look forward to collaborating with Councilmembers Hudson and OssĆ©, as well as the entire City Council, to bring this plan across the finish line and deliver 4,600 new homes, 2,800 jobs, and vital investments to this community.ā€

ā€œDelivery of urgently-needed new housing must go hand-in-hand with investments in the surrounding neighborhood. Here, it's paired with a redesigned Atlantic Avenue that prioritizes safety for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists, and enhances public space,ā€ said Deputy Mayor for Operations Jeffrey Roth. ā€œWe look forward to engaging further with the City Council and community to see this important plan through.ā€

A New Vision for Atlantic Avenue
Illustrative rendering of a potential future of Atlantic Avenue.

The Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan focuses on a section of Atlantic Avenue and neighboring streets between Vanderbilt and Nostrand Avenues. Since the 1960s, this area of Atlantic Avenue has been zoned for one-to-two industrial buildings and storage, despite its proximity to a major commercial area and transit hub. Through this plan, Atlantic Avenue would be transformed into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with new housing ā€” including permanently income-restricted affordable homes through Mandatory Inclusionary Housing ā€” alongside 800,000 square feet of new, active ground floor commercial uses and manufacturing businesses, and community facilities. Neighboring avenues and streets would see moderately-sized mixed-use buildings with income-restricted affordable housing and job-generating uses.

Building More Affordable Housing

Through programs run by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the city will also develop an additional 380 permanently affordable homes on city and nonprofit-owned sites across the neighborhood, including 542 Dean Street, 516 Bergen Street, and 1134-1142 Pacific Street. These buildings will include homes reserved for older, low-income households, as well as formerly homeless New Yorkers. To preserve existing affordable housing, HPD's Partners in Preservation program will provide a nearly $3 million investment to community-based groups focused on anti-harassment and anti-displacement work to support local tenants. HPD will also hold a series of housing resources workshops this spring and summer to assist tenants and homeowners with their needs. In response to feedback from industrial business owners and other community members during the public review process, the City Planning Commission also modified the proposal to make it safer and easier to preserve and grow industrial businesses in mixed-use buildings within neighborhood.

Creating Safer Streets and Investing in Public Spaces


Alongside new housing and job opportunities, the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan includes significant commitments to support and enhance the neighborhoodā€™s infrastructure. To enhance the communityā€™s open space, the plan has allocated $24.2 million in improvements to St. Andrew's Playground, including a new, synthetic turf multi-use field with a running track, upgraded basketball and handball courts, renovated playgrounds, a remodeled public restroom, new seating, plantings, and other green infrastructure. Lowry Triangle, located near Atlantic Avenue and Washington Avenue, will also be augmented to serve as a more vibrant community space. The plan also includes the first expansion of a zoning incentive to encourage the creation of publicly accessible open space outside of a central business district.

To make Atlantic Avenue safer for users of all ages, the plan includes several interim street safety improvements to be followed by future investments. These include painted "neckdowns," which are raised curb extensions that narrow the travel lane at intersections or midblock locations; daylighting to improve visibility at intersections; and bike corrals and a new bike lane on Bedford Avenue. Additionally, new buildings along Atlantic Avenue and Bedford Avenue would be required to be placed between five and 20 feet further away from the street, increasing sidewalk widths for pedestrians.

Alongside this plan, several storm water and sewer upgrades for Atlantic Avenue and Dean Street are already underway, as are the installation of subsurface stormwater detention systems and 140 rain gardens throughout the neighborhood. These investments will increase sewer capacity and help the neighborhood better handle storm events. New buildings would also be required to meet the New York City Department of Environmental Protectionā€™s stormwater standards, further reducing flooding.

Engaging with the Community

Over the past decade, DCP has worked closely with Brooklyn Community Board 8 and local stakeholders to develop a vision for a more dynamic, mixed-use Atlantic Avenue. The official study for the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan kicked off in early 2023 with New York City Councilmembers Crystal Hudson and Chi OssĆ©, engagement facilitator WXY Studio, Community Boards 2, 3, and 8, and agency partners. The process included over 20 meetings: three public community planning workshops, nine public working group meetings on three topic areas, and nine steering committee meetings to help shape the plan, which culminated in the release of the Community Vision and Priorities Report in 2023. CPCā€™s vote follows favorable recommendations with conditions from Brooklyn Community Boards 3 and 8, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. The Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan now goes to the New York City Council for a public hearing and vote.

The Adams Administrationā€™s Record on Housing

This year, Mayor Adams has doubled down on his commitment to build more affordable housing across the five boroughs. Last month, Mayor Adams and the New York City Economic Development Corporation announced the next phase of an ambitious, bold new vision for Coney Island in Brooklyn that will deliver 1,500 new homes and invest in the reconstruction of the historic Riegelmann Boardwalk. Additionally, Mayor Adams and HPD celebrated a $82 million investment to put homeownership within reach for more New Yorkers by expanding the HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance Program. Finally, the Adams administration has advanced several bold, forward-looking projects, including reimagining Gansevoort Square to build mixed-income housing, building 100 percent affordable housing at the Grand Concourse Library in the Bronx, advancing the 388 Hudson development in Manhattan to provide hundreds of critically-needed affordable housing units, and kicking off public review on the Midtown South Mixed-Use plan to create nearly 10,000 homes ā€” all building on this yearā€™s State of the City address.

Since entering office, Mayor Adams had made historic investments toward creating affordable housing and ensuring more New Yorkers have a place to call home. DCP is advancing several robust neighborhood plans that, if adopted, would deliver more than 50,000 units over the next 15 years in Midtown South in Manhattan and in Long Island City and Jamaica in Queens. Last year, the City Council approved the Bronx-Metro North Station Area Plan, which will create approximately 7,000 homes and 10,000 permanent jobs in the East Bronx.

Moreover, last December, Mayor Adams celebrated the passage of ā€œCity of Yes for Housing Opportunity,ā€ the most pro-housing proposal in city history that will build 80,000 new homes over 15 years and invest $5 billion towards critical infrastructure updates and housing. In June 2024, City Hall and the New York City Council agreed to an on-time, balanced, and fiscally-responsible $112.4 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Adopted Budget that invested $2 billion in capital funds across FY25 and FY26 to HPD and the New York City Housing Authorityā€™s capital budgets. In total, the Adams administration has committed $24.5 billion in housing capital in the current 10-year plan as the city faces a generational housing crisis. Mayor Adams celebrated bothā€Æback-to-back record breaking fiscal years and calendar years in both creating and connecting New Yorkers to affordable housing. Last spring, the city celebrated the largest 100 percent affordable housing project in 40 years with the Willets Point transformation.

Further, the Adams administration is using every tool available to address the city's housing crisis. Mayor Adams announced multiple new tools, including a $4 million state grant, to help New York City homeowners create accessory dwelling units that will not only help older adults afford to remain in the communities they call home but also help build generational wealth.

Finally, Mayor Adams and members of his administration successfully advocated for new toolsā€Æin the 2024 New York state budget that will spur the creation of urgently-needed housing. These tools include a new tax incentive for multifamily rental construction, a tax incentive program to encourage office conversions to create more affordable units, lifting the arbitrary "floor-to-area ratio" cap that held back affordable housing production in certain high-demand areas of the city, and the ability to create a pilot program to legalize and make safe basement apartments.ā€Æā€Æā€Æ

ā€œThe Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use Plan represents a significant milestone for land use policy that prioritizes equitable development of both affordable housing and industrial buildings. Todayā€™s vote by the CPC demonstrates the city's commitment to creating inclusive, dynamic, and safe neighborhoods for both working families and the manufacturing sector to thrive as good neighbors,ā€ said Brian T. Coleman, chief executive officer, Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC). ā€œGMDC appreciates DCP Chair Garodnick and the DCP team for stewarding the conversation towards a mixed-use neighborhood plan that incorporates opportunities to retain and grow good paying job creation and leverages public-private partnerships between non-profit developers and city agencies to build transformative mixed-use projects.ā€

ā€œWe at Community Board 8 support the AAMUP with expressed conditions. This is a plan that started over ten years ago with our M-1 Crown initiative,ā€ said Irsa Weatherspoon, chairperson, Community Board 8. ā€œI am pleased that we have been able to agree on a holistic plan that we believe supports some of the needs of our district. For example, rezoning to accommodate more affordable housing, HPDā€™s commitment to develop five identified sites for 100 percent affordable housing, a streetscape plan to increase safety for all users, tenant and landlord protections, a dedicated workforce development program, a green technology incubator, and measures to increase job employment with emphasis to M/WBE entrepreneurship. Just as important is the protection of our remaining open spaces to ensure that we are deliberate in not generating additional shadows and the loss of air.ā€

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