Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Last week I published  Making Sense of the 962 Pacific Street Rezoning Story , a couple of weeks after the New York Times published two online articles about the failed rezoning effort for that Crown Heights lot, but just before the Times published the package in print . So this post repurposes some of that long article. One lesson from some past spot rezonings, as I reported, is that the applicant, often spouting promises of community commitments, is not looking to (or even able to) build, and plans to sell the property once a lucrative rezoning as been achieved. “What we're trying to do… is work with all of you so that we can maintain control over our property, and that we could then bring in somebody, a developer, that echoes the same values we have and that the community has,” property owner Nadine Oelsner told Brooklyn Community Board 8. Would the Oelsners maintain a majority ownership in a joint venture? “We pray to God," she responded, "we can keep this property an...

Making Sense of the 962 Pacific Street Rezoning Story ( link ) The New York Times wrongly posited a NIMBY backlash, missing the Community Board's affordability gain, and downplayed reasons for skepticism. But yes, it was Council Member Hudson's call. From the article: Why should I write about a New York Times series on the “affordability crisis,” which included two articles chronicling 962 Pacific Street, an empty lot that might have delivered a new 150-unit building with affordable housing in Crown Heights? Because 1) yes, it’s Atlantic Yards-adjacent, in a few ways; 2) the Times got some key things wrong; and 3) such coverage furthers the simple  “build more homes” narrative . As the only reporter to steadily cover 962 Pacific, I know the story of this failed rezoning is far more complicated—and strange—than presented. Notably, Brooklyn Community Board 8 didn’t offer knee-jerk opposition, but successfully negotiated more affordable housing than landowner Nadine Oelsner initia...

The predictable Real Deal coverage yesterday of the 962 Pacific rezoning drama, Council member crushes Crown Heights project , offered one very interesting (albeit shakily credible) nugget--more below--and claimed that "[t]he decision will delay the project for a year or two and could prevent it from happening at all." Whether the project would be built as proposed and negotiated with Brooklyn Community Board 8 is in doubt, for sure, though surely something will be built after the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan (AAMUP), the broader neighborhood rezoning, is passed. As I  wrote , Hudson now faces pressure to ensure that the benefits from the AAMUP, in terms of affordable housing (and even job-creating space) match those proposed for 962 Pacific. However, had the proposal by Nadine Oelsner's HSN Realty (and a future developer as partner or new owner) passed, that would not necessarily have delivered it faster, since the "shovel-ready" project also depended on fina...

She stuck to her position. Council Member Crystal Hudson yesterday gave the thumbs down to the proposed spot rezoning of 962 Pacific Street in Crown Heights, where the longtime landowner, Nadine Oelsner's HSN Realty, sought to build a 150-unit building, with more affordability than in nearby private rezonings, on an empty lot. Looking SE from Grand Ave. & Pacific St. toward vacant 962 Pacific parcel (Photo: Norman Oder) In doing so, Hudson maintained her longstanding--if not so loud--opposition to a spot rezoning that would come ahead of the more comprehensive Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan (AAMUP), which would ultimately enable housing at the 962 Pacific site and deliver other neighborhood improvements. Her opposition was reflected in votes ( video here ; her remarks start at about 9:15) against the rezoning yesterday at the City Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, and later at the Land Use Committee, as Council Members typically defer to the local representat...

The proposed 962 Pacific Street development, which sailed through the City Planning Commission after much debate at Community Board 8, faces a resolution by Tuesday, with votes scheduled by the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, and then the Land Use Committee. Looking SE from Grand Ave. & Pacific St. toward vacant 962 Pacific parcel (Photo: Norman Oder) There's been some press--likely furthered by the developer's camp--noting the project would include more affordability (48 of 150 units) and job-creating space than similar spot rezonings and even the pending Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan (AAMUP), while portraying Council Member Crystal Hudson's resistance as irrational. Hudson, at a Jan. 23 Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises hearing, criticized 962 Pacific as "seeking to get ahead of the final comprehensive plan," which would include improvements in streetscape, public space, and other amenities, and noted that the "draft rezoning proposal is j...

According to the New York City Planning Commission (CPC) public hearing calendar ( link ), the meeting Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 10 am will include a public hearing on 962 Pacific Street in Crown Heights, a spot rezoning. Note that, at least according to a vote at a Community Board 8 meeting, 962 Pacific is expected to include more affordable housing than designated in the requested zoning text change. (That said, it's less than what the Land Use Committee requested.) Those affordable housing promises must be locked in by an agreement--sometimes misleadingly called a Community Benefits Agreement--separate from the City Council approval process, involving local nonprofits.  Who decides? The CPC, unlike a Community Board or Borough President, which offer advisory opinions, has the power to approve, disapprove, or modify a project before it goes to City Council.  Note that Council Member Crystal Hudson, whose recommendation should be dispositive, has said she opposed spot rezonings...

OK, I'm confused.  A little-publicized public hearing Monday night held at Brooklyn Borough Hall on the proposed 962 Pacific Street rezoning not only drew no testimony other than representatives of applicant HSN Realty--nobody from Community Board 8, no concerned residents--the proposal discussed did not comport with the one CB 8 voted Sept. 14 to support. That may be because the commitments to more affordable housing, at deeper affordability, must be locked in via a yet-to-be created side agreement, sometimes called (misleadingly) a Community Benefits Agreement.  But those weren't even mentioned at the Brooklyn Borough President's hearing. The nine-story building, with at least 150 apartments, would rise on a vacant lot between Grand and Classon avenues. Looking SE from Grand Ave. & Pacific St. toward vacant 962 Pacific parcel (Photo/Norman Oder) Also, those additional affordable units, as discussed last month, likely would upend the developer's earlier promises t...

After Community Board 8 voted last month to support ( link ) the spot rezoning of the 962 Pacific Street parcel, with less affordability than the Land Use Committee had sought, the next step is for the Borough President to weigh in with a recommendation. There's nothing listed on the web calendar  for Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and my email query about a hearing didn't get a response. However, the Department of City Planning's Zoning Application Portal indicates that a Public Hearing will be held at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, on Monday, Oct. 16 at 6 pm.  After that, under the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), the application goes to the City Planning Commission, which, after holding a public hearing, can approve, modify, or disapprove it. Then it goes to City Council--and the local Council Member, in this case Crystal Hudson, typically holds sway. In this case, Hudson has previously said she opposed spot rezon...

After a convoluted process that required two votes, Brooklyn Community Board 8 on Sept. 14 endorsed the spot rezoning of the proposed 962 Pacific Street at a somewhat revised configuration from the Land Use Committee's  request  a week earlier. That means a promise of 27 deeply affordable apartments rather than the requested 30—but more than the 15 that applicant HSN Realty had earlier offered at the Crown Heights site, just east of Grand Avenue, under the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program.  The 27 units at 40% of Area Median Income (AMI) would rent, under current  limits  (which will rise), as follows: $848 for a studio, $1,059 for a one-bedroom, and $1,271 for a two-betroom.  It was a not insubstantial gain for those seeking deeper affordable housing and homes for those at risk of displacement, while a once majority-Black area has become whiter and wealthier. ( Update : here are the official Minutes .) Ultimately, it was also a victory for bot...

The agenda for tonight's Brooklyn Community Board 8 General Meeting , held at Chelsea Piers Field House at 601 Dean Street (within the two-tower complex known as 595 Dean, the most recent buildings to rise in Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park), is fairly extensive. The board will hear an update from the Department of Sanitation on curbside composting, will hear reports from eight committees, and will welcome testimony, at two minutes maximum, regarding CB 8's recommendation to City Hall regarding the city's Capital and Expense Budget Fiscal Year 2025. That's on top of the roll call (and acceptance of minutes), general public comments, as well as new business. The board will address items from four subcommittees. Those include seven new liquor license applications and one renewal; two street co-namings; and one application for a cannabis retail dispensary from Two Oaks almost across the street, at 606 Dean Street. That's a lot to cover in the scheduled 6:30 - 9 pm session....