COURIER L 6 IFE, OCT. 16-22, 2020
A sketch of development along the Gowanus with the neighborhood’s rezoning. Department of City Planning
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BY KEVIN DUGGAN
City planning honchos
will address the community
on their vision for the longstalled
Gowanus rezoning on
Oct. 22, giving a chance for
local civic gurus to ask questions
of the hotly-contested
land use changes, according
to a city rep.
“The Department of City
Planning will give a general
overview of the current status
of the Gowanus plan and provide
info on upcoming meetings
and the ULURP process.
We will also take questions
from the Community Board
about the proposal and timing,”
said DCP rep Joe Marvilli
in an email Friday.
The agency’s scheduled update
on the project to Community
Board 6’s Landmarks and
Land Use Committee comes
ahead of the roughly sevenmonth
public review, known
as the Uniform Land Use Review
Procedure, which the
city plans to start by January
at the latest.
The civic panel’s district
manager hailed the city’s decision
to engage the community
on the proposed rezoning
— but made no promises about
the reaction of locals, saying
only that the planners needed
to adhere to demands of residents.
“This is good news as we’ve
been asking for pre-certifi cation
meetings long before the
pandemic hit. However, what
is presented, and not just the
timeline, will ultimately determine
our reaction,” Michael
Racioppo wrote in an
email announcing the meeting
Thursday.
The city scheme calls
for wide-ranging land use
changes which would allow
for more and taller residential
construction on former manufacturing
land, potentially
bringing around 20,000 new
people to the neighborhood,
along with new waterfront
open spaces along the noxious
Gowanus Canal and improvements
to the area’s public
housing stock.
Gowanus is one of the last
major rezonings under the de
Blasio administration, and
has been given new life after
the mayor resumed land use
review procedures in September
— which came after
a several-month halt due to
COVID-19 that put the rezoning’s
future in jeopardy due to
Hizzoner’s dwindling time left
in offi ce.
DCP presentation about the
Gowanus rezoning to Community
Board 6’s Landmarks and
Land Use Committee. Oct. 22 at
6 pm. Register for the Zoom webinar
here.
TUNE IN!
City to present Gowanus
neighborhood rezoning
updates at virtual meeting