The New York City Department of City Planning yesterday proposed zoning map changes for an approximately 31-block area in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn's Community District 2. The proposal has been developed after extensive consultation with the Boerum Hill Association, Community Board 2, local elected officials and neighborhood residents.
The rezoning area includes all or part of the blocks bounded by Atlantic Avenue to the north, 4th Avenue to the east, Warren and Wyckoff streets to the south, and Court Street to the west.
The areas proposed to be rezoned are currently zoned R6 and R7B. The current R6 zoning permits construction of tower apartment buildings, and has resulted in buildings that are inconsistent with the typical character of the Boerum Hill neighborhood. The R7B zoning is mapped in some areas where it would allow development larger than the existing rowhouse character.
Recent and proposed developments, including large community facility buildings, seven-story apartment buildings, and building additions on otherwise low-scale blocks, do not reflect the predominant existing rowhouse context and erode the character of the neighborhood.
The proposal would rezone the area from the existing R6 and R7B zoning districts to R6B, R6A and R7A contextual zoning districts. These contextual zoning districts reflect existing building forms and uses and would protect the character and scale of the neighborhood while allowing for appropriate development. The proposal would also refine commercial overlays on many of the thoroughfares to more closely tailor them to the existing distribution of mixed uses, bringing existing establishments into conformance, and preventing the encroachment of commercial uses onto residential mid-blocks.
The rezoning seeks to respond to the Boerum Hill community's request for contextual rezoning that prevents out of scale development and applies height limits throughout the rezoning area
It also seeks to match new zoning to existing built character and land uses and to support commercial corridors along Court and Smith streets and 3rd Avenue.
The proposal begins the approvals process at Community Board 2, which has 60 days to review the plans before making a recommendation. The proposal will then head to Borough President Marty Markowitz's office, the City Planning Commission and finally, to the City Council for a final decision.
The rezoning area includes all or part of the blocks bounded by Atlantic Avenue to the north, 4th Avenue to the east, Warren and Wyckoff streets to the south, and Court Street to the west.
The areas proposed to be rezoned are currently zoned R6 and R7B. The current R6 zoning permits construction of tower apartment buildings, and has resulted in buildings that are inconsistent with the typical character of the Boerum Hill neighborhood. The R7B zoning is mapped in some areas where it would allow development larger than the existing rowhouse character.
Recent and proposed developments, including large community facility buildings, seven-story apartment buildings, and building additions on otherwise low-scale blocks, do not reflect the predominant existing rowhouse context and erode the character of the neighborhood.
The proposal would rezone the area from the existing R6 and R7B zoning districts to R6B, R6A and R7A contextual zoning districts. These contextual zoning districts reflect existing building forms and uses and would protect the character and scale of the neighborhood while allowing for appropriate development. The proposal would also refine commercial overlays on many of the thoroughfares to more closely tailor them to the existing distribution of mixed uses, bringing existing establishments into conformance, and preventing the encroachment of commercial uses onto residential mid-blocks.
The rezoning seeks to respond to the Boerum Hill community's request for contextual rezoning that prevents out of scale development and applies height limits throughout the rezoning area
It also seeks to match new zoning to existing built character and land uses and to support commercial corridors along Court and Smith streets and 3rd Avenue.
The proposal begins the approvals process at Community Board 2, which has 60 days to review the plans before making a recommendation. The proposal will then head to Borough President Marty Markowitz's office, the City Planning Commission and finally, to the City Council for a final decision.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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