Brooklyn Denounces Proposed Rezoning Near Botanical Garden
Action- Send an email to Protect the Brooklyn Botanical Garden
Real Estate Developer Spent Half a Million Dollars to Lobby Council Member Laurie Cumbo and others
Respect Brooklyn denounced the proposed rezoning of
Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn and called on beleaguered Council Member Laurie
Cumbo to not do the bidding of real estate interests, for once.
Two real estate developers, Continuum Company and Lincoln
Equities, have filed plans to build a complex of two 39-story towers of over
420 feet each plus 40-foot bulkheads on the three-acre spice factory site at
960 Franklin Avenue, between Montgomery Street and Sullivan Place and very
close to Brooklyn Botanic Garden. For context, the proposed towers would be
over 100 feet taller than the existing Tivoli Towers on Crown Street.
Action- Send an email to Protect the former Flatbush Presbyterian Church
The developers have spent $457,367.80 in lobbying Council Member Laurie Cumbo and her staff and city officials. “All
too often the faux progressive Mayor and City Council have listened to
lobbyists and real estate interests,
instead of local communities especially in tenant displacing and
developer friendly rezonings. We hope Council Member Cumbo will finally listen
to her constituents instead of lobbyist dollars.” said Linda Allende of
Respect Brooklyn research team.
The shade from this
proposed project would detrimentally Impact BBG’s plant collections.
Buildings of this size would have a lasting negative impact
BBG’s conservatories, greenhouses, and nurseries by causing the loss of as much
as three hours of sunlight daily in spring, summer, and fall. These greenhouses
and nurseries are where plants for the entire Garden are propagated and grown.
The development site is less than 300 feet from these structures and just 150
feet from the Garden. It must be stopped.
The zoning in the area where this project is proposed, bordering BBG near
Washington Avenue, is now capped at a very sensible and contextual 75 ft (over
seven stories). This zoning was specifically established in 1991 to prevent
shadows on BBG’s conservatories and greenhouses to protect its access to
sunlight.
The Garden’s position on
the project and rezoning is that the
current zoning must remain unchanged.
“This proposed rezoning is
a reward to lobbyists and developers and could lead to the displacement of rent
stabilized tenants and negatively impact the garden. Existing zoning is
adequate, only greedy landlords want to change it.” Added Linda Allende of
Respect Brooklyn.
Respect Brooklyn will join advocates of the community and on
behalf of protecting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden at the Public Scoping Meeting on Tuesday, March
12, 2019 at the New York City Department of City Planning. There will be very
few hearings during the ULURP approval process. Of course the NYCDCP is an arm
of the real estate industry under this administration.
Environmental (Scoping) Hearing on 960 Franklin Ave (Spice
Factory)
Date: Tuesday, March 12, at 1 pm
Location: 120 Broadway in Manhattan, lower level
Date: Tuesday, March 12, at 1 pm
Location: 120 Broadway in Manhattan, lower level
The https://fs20.formsite.com/bbg-forms/no-rezone/index.html
BBG petition was said to have 3,000 people who signed it.
(Respect
Brooklyn has no connection to BBG except for the percentage of our tax $ that
goes to it.)
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