Much-Debated High-Rise Near Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gets OK From City

BROOKLYN, NY — On Thursday, the New York City Council unanimously voted to approve the rezoning for a much-debated high-rise development on Franklin Avenue, controversial for its proximity to Brooklyn Botanic Garden, ending a nearly seven-year battle about shadows and affordable housing.

The plans for the building, located at 962-972 Franklin Ave., were adjusted many times to minimize casting shadows on the garden's precious and rare plants, the garden's President and CEO Adrian Benepe said.

"After more than six years of discussion, debate, and vigorous public advocacy, the threat of permanent loss of sunlight for our living museum of plants is over," Benepe said. "We are grateful to our elected officials for their steadfast support and diligent work to craft a plan that ensures the sunlight that plants need to survive, protects the Garden from permanent damage, and enables affordable workforce housing."

Called “one of the most debated private applications to come before the city” by City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick, this rezoning will create the city’s first union-built, financed, and operated residential development.

Next, the rezoning proposal will go to Mayor Eric Adams' desk for his signature.

The saga

The existing zoning on the site allows for up to seven stories on the lot.

The Continuum Company, a development firm with bases in New York and Florida, initially proposed two 39-story towers on the site with around 1,600 units in 2017 but faced pushback from the garden's administrators, local community boards, and Eric Adams, who was the Brooklyn Borough President at the time.

Then, after several roadblocks, including a temporary restraining order against the plan in 2020, the plan was ultimately rejected by the City Planning Commission in 2021 due to the same concerns about sunlight.

Next, the firm proposed a single, 14-story tower on the site with 475 apartments, which also received pushback from concerned community board members, the garden and several local politicians, who had galvanized around what they called the "fight for sunlight."

When the proposal for 14 stories was rejected this September by the city, the developer briefly scrapped the project, saying it was no longer financially feasible, and then revived the project after a labor union offered to finance the project through a city subsidy program for workforce housing, Hudson said.

“Despite significant headwinds, our clients had the vision and resolve to see this project through. I am honored to have played a key role in such an important project, especially as the city faces a generational housing shortage and the mass exodus of middle-class jobs,” said David J. Rosenberg, the lawyer who represented the developers throughout the process.

The final plan for the building

The building will now include 10 stories with 355 apartments, 106 of which are permanently affordable, and the roof is proposed to slope down at 10 degrees, which Brooklyn Botanic Garden administrators support, Hudson said.

The latest plan proposes a mixed-use building, meaning the first floor will have a storefront for a commercial tenant, Hudson said.

Here's the breakdown: Five percent of the affordable units would be reserved for families at 120 percent Area Median Income (AMI), or an annual income of $186,360 for a family of four, and 15 percent would be reserved for families at 130 percent of the AMI, or $201,890.

The last 10 percent would be reserved for families at 70 percent of the AMI, or $108,710 for a family of four, Hudson said.

As part of the plan, Continuum also said it would fund a number of upgrades at the nearby Jackie Robinson Playground, Hudson said.

"We have succeeded in turning a potential catastrophe into a win for our community," Hudson said.

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