There are some similarities between the community and city rezoning proposals but the differences are important to Bushwick community members who say they have waited for decades for serious public investments in their neighborhood.
‘Last winter another agency, the New York City Department of City Planning deliberately circumvented the Council’s oversight when it told the City Planning Commission that it had to approve four mega towers proposed to be built right on top of existing buildings.’
And who’s afraid of the pied-a-terre tax?
Can’t make the February 28 meeting? Tune in here.
‘They heard us for the most part but they did not get everything right. And that is what this part is about.’
“I know that not everyone is excited about the idea of new residential and commercial development at heights taller than the surrounding brownstone neighborhoods. But I genuinely believe we are on the way to getting the balance right.”
DCP examined hundreds of buildings and found “few instances of excessive mechanical void spaces being used,” but did find enough evidence to “support concerns raised by the public.”
Even people making close to six digits are concerned about losing affordable apartments. And some worried about jobs as much as housing.
Two Councilmembers invited neighborhood stakeholders to draft a rezoning plan. But it could encounter the same misgivings that top-down plans have faced.
But key parts of the rezoning, which was shelved in 2016 over concerns about infrastructure and flight paths, remain off the table.
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