Politics & Government

City Council Votes to Approve Boerum Hill Rezoning

Through downzoning, the character of the historic neighborhood will be preserved.

Just like it's neighbors, Boerum Hill is now guaranteed to maintain its brownstone character. 

on the part of the Boerum Hill Association, Councilmember Steve Levin and the Brooklyn office of City Planning, the City Council voted Wednesday to approve a rezoning of 31-blocks of the landmarked neighborhood.

"This is a wonderful rezoning. Everyone saw there was a great need," said Levin at a press conference near City Hall. "The rezoning today will make sure the character of the neighborhood is preserved."

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With the rezoning, Boerum Hill joins its fellow brownstone neighbors.

"We call ourselves 'orphan blocks,'" Howard Kolins, President of the Boerum Hill Association (BHA), has said.

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Until now, the zoning in the neighborhood allowed for the construction of tall tower apartment buildings.

No longer.

Much of the neighborhood will be changed from zoning code R6 to R6B or R6A, which will limit the height that new developments can be built to as well as how far they are setback from the street. The rezoning area includes all or portions of the blocks bounded by Atlantic Avenue, Fourth Avenue, Warren and Wyckoff streets and Court Street.

Kolins said the BHA was "extremely grateful" for the assistance of the Brooklyn City Planning office and Councilmember Levin "for working with us to structure this zoning, which will protect and preserve our wonderul tree-lined, low rise Brownstone neighborhood for many, many years to come."

The rezoning also refines which streets are "commercial overlays," which will ensure that commercial businesses cannot open on residential blocks.

In the last weeks before the council was to vote on the rezoning, Frank DeFalco, who owns multiple buildings on Bergen Street, including the one that houses the art gallery, expressed some concern with the height limit to be imposed on the block.

DeFalco met with Levin and Kolins to discuss his potential plans to build on top of the current buildings to create artist work and residential space in the buildings. To go any higher, however, would not be allowed under the new rezoning. Though Levin and the Boerum Hill Association support the arts and the gallery, in the end it was decided the rezoning process was too far along to amend any of the plans.

"This was a difficult issue to take on now given the progress," said Kolins.

Levin said he is interested in possibly creating a cultural district on Bergen Street, that could potentially require another rezoning.

"We want to start working on that," he said. "The idea to build residences for artists is really compelling."


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