Month / October 2020
October 22, 2020 October 22, 2020 by pkrashes
The city's plans to develop 516 Bergen and 546 Dean Streets
The North Prospect Height Association currently advocates to make sure the development of two neighborhood lots align with community needs and concerns.
The City owns two sites, the former NYC Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development (HPD) Brooklyn headquarters, on Bergen and Dean Streets between 6th Ave. and Carlton. HPD now proposes to rezone and develop these sites as affordable housing for seniors and other groups in need. The Prospect Heights community strongly supports the creation of deeply affordable senior housing. However, HPD proposes using zoning that will allow buildings as tall as eight stories. A change to zoning for these projects risks triggering further zoning changes to the neighborhood.
The Dean Street site is also adjacent to an existing, heavily-used playground. Development at this site presents an opportunity to increase public open space in a neighborhood that, given current development, has a profound deficit of open space. The proposal does not consider this opportunity but rather uses the site to bring additional density to an already overtaxed neighborhood.
There is a need to create affordable homes for seniors in our neighborhood. But this community has also borne the burden of massive development at Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park without seeing a vast majority of promised jobs and affordable housing units—including an earlier still unfulfilled pledge of 10% affordable housing set aside for seniors. And now this community is doing all it can to ensure our voices are heard and our demands for truly affordable housing are met.
We ask for your support:
We strongly support the creation of deeply affordable senior housing.
We believe any new development must conform to existing R6B zoning. We are additionally concerned that any change to the zoning of mid-block sites may generate changes to zoning across a broader area.
One of the two sites is immediately adjacent to an existing playground. It is our hope the city recognizes and values this rare opportunity to increase public open space in an area that will have a profound open space deficit.
We believe that by working together with the City, we can create affordable homes for seniors in our neighborhood in a way that aligns with the needs of our whole community.