BY BEN VERDE
A Brooklyn judge tossed a
temporary restraining order
that was halting progress on
the controversial 960 Franklin
Ave. development in Crown
Heights — paving the way for
the hotly-contested building
to move forward through the
city’s seven-month Land Use
Review Process.
The rezoning change
would call for the proposed
mixed-use development to
rise high above the adjacent
Brooklyn Botanic Garden,
which both garden stewards
and Parks Department employees
say would devastate
plant life in the fl ower emporium.
A lawsuit, fi led by activists
Alicia Boyd and Michael
Hollingsworth, had halted
progress on the building by
arguing that city planning
honchos violated a law that
required the city to provide
details about rezonings 30
days before certifying them
— which is an initial step in
the ULURP process.
City lawyers successfully
argued, however, that
the charter revision only requires
them to give notice 30
days before certifying a zoning
change, not provide details.
“When they presented it
to us, the voters, they said
‘provide a detailed summary’
and that’s what we voted on!”
said Boyd, of the Movement to
Protect the People, at a rally
outside the Brooklyn Botanic
Garden on Dec. 10. “We
weren’t supposed to be notifi
ed, we were supposed to be
given the details so we can
fi ght back — and the Department
of City Planning said
‘no, we’re not going to give
you anything.’”
A spokesperson for the Department
of City Planning
said that no date has been set
for the certifi cation to start,
and that the process will begin
once developer Continuum
Company’s application
and environmental review
process is complete.
Anti-gentrifi cation activists,
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COURIER L 14 IFE, DEC. 18–24, 2020 PS
supporters of the Garden,
and leftist elected offi cials are
gearing up for a years-in-themaking
fi ght that could determine
the character of the
neighborhood and the garden
for generations to come, they
say.
“This proposed project
threatens the existence of
the 110-year-old Brooklyn Botanic
Garden because plants
don’t grow without sunlight,”
said newly minted Botanic
Garden president Adrian Benepe
at the Dec. 10 rally, who
formerly served as the city’s
parks commissioner.
A memo written by the
Parks Department in Dec.
2019 backs up the garden’s
assertions that the proposed
towers could potentially have
devastating effects on plant
life in the greenspace.
As the Botanic Garden is
on state-owned land, one incoming
state elected offi cial
said she will push the state
legislature to get involved.
“If we have a development
that will directly impact
A rendering of the proposed developments at 960 Franklin Avenue.
Continuum Company
state land, then we need to
pull state legislators into the
fi ght,” said incoming Crown
Heights Assemblywoman
Phara Souffrant Forrest. “If
we are going to have this proposal,
all actors need to be on
the fl oor.”
Fighting for sunlight
Rezoning moves ahead, threatening Garden
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RAPIDLY IN NEW YORK CITY.
ADULTS OVER 65 AND PEOPLE WITH CERTAIN UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS
ARE AT GREATER RISK FOR SEVERE COVID-19.
For more information, visit nyc.gov/health/coronavirus
Wear a face covering at all times when
outside their home, indoors and outdoors.
Not have visitors in their home, except
for caregivers.
Avoid public spaces and gatherings.
Stay home if sick, except for
getting medical care, including testing
for COVID-19.
IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19, CALL YOUR DOCTOR.
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Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Commissioner
/coronavirus