BY BEN VERDE
A Kings County Supreme
Court judge granted a temporary
restraining order on Nov.
10 halting the certifi cation of a
controversial Crown Heights
rezoning that neighborhood
activists allege skipped out on
crucial community input.
The order temporarily prevents
the rezoning application
for 960 Franklin Ave. from
moving forward as it snakes
through the city’s land-use process,
which locals Alicia Boyd,
Lashaun Ellis, and Michael
Hollingsworth say has been
botched by “backroom deals.”
The activists, who also have
an ongoing lawsuit against an
unrelated rezoning further
down Franklin Avenue, maintain
that the Department of
City Planning violated the 2018
charter revision that required
more community input during
the Uniform Land Use Review
Process (ULURP), after the developer
of 960 Franklin moved
to have its application certifi ed
in October.
“Last year, after decades of
backroom deals between big
real estate and DCP, the people
of New York City said enough,”
Hollingsworth said outside
Kings County Supreme Court
on Tuesday. “We overwhelmingly
COURIER L 10 IFE, NOV. 20-26, 2020
voted to change the way
DCP disseminates information
about rezonings to communities,
and less than two months
into effect DCP has already broken
that law as they work with
hideous developers on the project
for 960 Franklin Avenue.”
City Planning did not submit
a “detailed summary” of
the rezoning request before
moving to certify it, and did not
make documents relevant to the
rezoning available for public review,
which the activists charge
is a violation of the city charter.
The 2018 charter amendment
requires City Planning to provide
a project summary to relevant
community boards at least
30 days before the application is
certifi ed.
The 960 Franklin project, a
39-story multi-tower mega-development,
has been the source
of controversy ever since its
announcement in 2019 due to
its proximity to the Brooklyn
Botanic Garden. The garden
itself has publicly opposed it,
and its experts have testifi ed
that the shadows cast by the
towers could do irreparable
harm to its grow houses. An internal
memo within the Parks
Department fi rst reported on
by Brooklyn Paper backed up
those fi ndings.
The area surrounding the
garden has been protected by
a 1991 community agreement
that the David Dinkins administration
put in place limiting
development on lots bordering
the garden to 12 stories in order
to protect plant life in the garden.
City zoning bigwigs have
since gone back on the agreement,
with City Hall arguing
the need to build more housing
outweighed concerns from 30
years ago.
“I think it’s quite clear that
the work that was done almost
30 years ago was for that moment
in history,” Mayor de Blasio
said during a Sept. 30 press
briefi ng. “If you told me that we
Thee proposed 960 Franklin Avenue rezoning. Continuum Company
would get upwards of 8.6 million
people and that the cost of
renting an apartment would go
so high, I just would not have
believed you. So, I would say
that the assumptions then versus
the assumptions now are
very different.”
A spokesman for the city’s
Law Department disputed that
City Planning violated the city
charter and said the city will
fi ght the injunction.
“City Planning followed the
law and we’ll defend against
these claims,” said Nick
Paolucci.
Continuum Company did
not return a request for comment
by press time.
DEVELOPING STORY
Lawsuit halts controversial C’ Heights rezoning
The Vascular Institute
of New York
Est. 1992
Advanced
Aortic Aneurysm Center
The Total Vascular Care Center
is Open Everyday
Serving New York Communities
Vascular Needs.
We Also Offer TELEMEDICINE VISITS
via Smart Phone, Computer, Tablet.
Call for Appointment 718-438-3800
960 50th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11219
www.VascularNYC.com
ENRICO ASCHER, MD
NATALIE MARKS, MD
ELEANORA IADGAROVA, NP
ANIL HINGORANI, MD
/www.VascularNYC.com
/www.VascularNYC.com