To build, or not to build
BY BEN VERDE
Prospect Heights community
board members pushed
back against a developer’s
plans to construct a residential
building housing 316
apartments — roughly 95 of
which would be below-marketrate
— because, they claim,
the neighborhood is “swimming
in density.”
“There is no reason to add
density to a neighborhood like
Prospect Heights that is absolutely
swimming in density,”
said Elaine Weinstein during
a March 4 meeting of Community
Board 8’s land use committee.
The lot at the corner of Vanderbilt
and Atlantic avenues
currently features a drivethrough
McDonald’s, but developer
Vanderbilt Atlantic
Holdings wants a rezoning
to allow them to build their
proposed 18-story apartment
building — which provoked
outrage from board members
because of its height and potential
COURIER L 16 IFE, MARCH 12-18, 2021
to increase the neighborhood’s
population.
Contrary to the locals’
claims of abnormal density in
the neighborhood, however,
Prospect Heights features
around 83.6 people per acre of
land, making it just 67.5 percent
as dense as neighboring
Crown Heights, and comparably
dense to nearby Park
Slope.
In fact, much of the density
that does exist in the area
comes from the Pacifi c Park
megadevelopment, an in-progress
multi-tower mixed-use
project that includes the Barclays
Center and several towers
near the heavily commercial
Atlantic Center. The rest
of the neighborhood is mainly
low-scale brownstones and
walk-up apartment buildings.
Reps for Vanderbilt Atlantic
Holdings argued that the
positioning of the lot — situated
at the corner of a fourlane
road and a six-lane road,
just two blocks from Barclays
Center — actually makes it
the perfect location to absorb
a high-density development.
“If there’s anywhere in the
neighborhood that density
belongs, it’s right here,” said
land-use attorney Benjamin
Stark.
“Just because you can
build higher and denser because
you have these two wide
streets converging, doesn’t
mean you should,” countered
Community Board 8 Chair
Ethel Tyus.
If built, the developer
would be forced to earmark 30
percent of the building’s units
as “affordable,” with rents
targeted at the area’s median
income. That would provide
nearly 100 below-market-rate
apartments toward Mayor Bill
de Blasio’s goal of creating
300,000 affordable units by the
end of 2026.
The board tabled the vote
on the proposal for its April
land-use meeting, but encouraged
the developer to scale
their plan down.
Whenever the board votes,
the proposal would head to
the Borough President’s offi ce
for another non-binding opinion,
before heading to the City
Planning Commission and
the City Council for fi nal approval.
P’Heights locals cry foul over
18-story residential building
The proposed development on Vanderbilt and Atlantic Avenues.
City Planning Commission
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