BY ROSE ADAMS
Developers of a 20-story tower
in Coney Island drew concern
from local civic gurus after
revealing their plans to build
ground-fl oor retail at an upcoming
residential tower, with
members fearing new stores
would draw shoppers away
from the neighborhood’s already
struggling commercial
district.
“That site is just an extension
of the Brighton Beach
Avenue commercial district
which has plenty of vacancies,”
said Coney Island resident
Rose Rose at Community
Board 13’s full monthly meeting
on Oct. 23. “If there’s a
commercial need, they can develop
it at Brighton Beach Avenue.”
The nearly completed tower
at 271 Sea Breeze Ave. between
W. Second and W. Fifth streets
is currently zoned as a residential
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property, but executives
at Rybak Development
are seeking a rezoning allowing
commercial use in order
to stuff the building’s ground
fl oor with shops, according to
an attorney for the developer,
who claimed the plan is to rent
the space to small businesses
that would benefi t residential
tenants.
“The people we’re trying to
attract are the people who live
here,” said Eric Palatnik, who
told board members that Rybak
would withhold the storefront
from chain stores.
Palatnik said that fl ooding
regulations require the residential
units to begin on the
building’s second fl oor, meaning
that the ground fl oor can
only be parking space under
the lot’s current zoning. If the
building’s commercial rezoning
get approved, the ground
fl oor will become retail space
with a plaza out front, developers
said.
The developer’s presentation
on Wednesday was purely
informational, and board members
won’t be asked to vote on
the plan until they reconvene
in November, after which the
rezoning application will head
to the Borough President’s Offi
ce, the City Planning Commission,
and on to City Council,
where Councilman Chaim
Deutsch will cast the deciding
vote in the matter.
While Rose was skeptical
about the need for additional
retail, other civic gurus were
optimistic that the development
would breathe new life
into the area’s fl agging commercial
interests.
“It’s really a dead area,”
said Pat Singer, the founder of
the Brighton Beach Neighborhood
Association.
Singer added that she admired
GOING UP: The new, 20-story tower on Sea Breeze Avenue will house 114
apartments. Rybak Development
Rybak’s condo development
in Sheepshead Bay, which
stands in the place of El Greco
Diner on Sheepshead Bay Road
and Emmons Avenue.
“I’m fascinated with the
Greco building. It’s very welcoming,”
she said. “I think his
ideas are nice.”
The residential tower, slated
to open by summer of 2020, will
include a gym, snazzy amenities,
and 114 apartments — 30
percent of which will be offered
at below-market rates,
Palatnik claimed.
CHA-CHING!
Coney developer seeks rezoning to build
retail amid fl agging commerce
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