Gowanus Rezoning Doubt Continues As City Reps Make Their Rounds

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — A rezoning plan that some estimate could double the size of the neighborhood has faced its fair share of pushback since it was released in January, and the skepticism will likely continue at meetings scheduled this month.

The Gowanus Rezoning Plan, developed by the Department of City Planning over several years, aims to bring more affordable housing, climate-change protections and varied development to the waterfront neighborhood, city officials have said.

But since it was unveiled in the new year, certain local groups — and even a website created to oppose it — have pushed back against the proposal, arguing that it does not bring enough affordable housing or that the plan for 22 or 30 story buildings on some blocks will change the neighborhood for the worse.

Most recently, city planning representatives that have been making their rounds to local board meetings for feedback faced tough questions from Community Board 6's Landmarks and Land Use Committee. So much so, that the committee only got through about half of its list of more than 50 questions and will need to continue the conversation at its April 18 meeting, according to video of the meeting.

Some board members even echoed what seems to be one of the most popular questions: why should the rezoning happen at all?

"Why change it?" one member asked. "Why step in here and destroy the goodness that we have with the overdevelopment that doesn’t belong here next to a toxic waterway?"

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The city planning officials, along with some elected officials, have said that the rezoning plan will maintain what Councilman Brad Lander has called the "Gowanus mix" — or a balance of residential, commercial and industrial properties throughout the neighborhood. In a recently-released FAQ created by Lander, he argues that the proposal allows for an overarching plan that will address housing needs instead of letting the neighborhood be overtaken by commercial development.

"Inaction will not maintain the neighborhood as it is today," Lander said. "Current zoning regulations allow the building of more nightclubs, hotels, and self-storage, all of which have been growing. Without a rezoning, increasing real estate pressure and rising rents will continue to threaten the creativity and local jobs that characterize Gowanus today."

Some of the main concerns, though, about the proposal have been exactly what addressing those housing needs will look like.

A draft scope of work for the rezoning released last week estimates that it will bring 8,200 new units of housing, 3,000 of which, or 37 percent, will be affordable. The affordable units would be required to be available to those at or below 60 percent of the area median income.

But at the meeting last week, some board members asked why even more affordable units weren't pushed for and, whether the new development would create a spike in the rents of existing housing properties. Others spoke out, as many have since the proposal was released, about the increased density that will be allowed on some blocks and the towers as tall as 30 stories that will be permitted on others.

"Where do we start moving into an area where we’re applying a level of density that...is going beyond what’s needed to achieve identified goals?" one member asked.

DCP Project Manager Jonathan Keller and other planning officials told the board that a feasibility study that was done in the area concluded that economic and legal reasons wouldn't accommodate more than 25 to 30 percent affordable units per building.

They also said that allowing the tall buildings was a necessary trade-off for the affordability they will be required to include, along with a series of climate-change protections and non-residential uses required for those on the waterfront.

They added that there is little to show that the rezoning will be responsible for any rising rents in the area.

"Most planners that research the issue do not find that conclusion from the research," said Michael Sandler, director of neighborhood planning for the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development. "It is hard to directly link a zoning change to changes in rent."

The community board committee said the planning representatives will return to discuss the rest of the questions during their meeting on April 18.

The planning department also recently announced that Gowanus Rezoning Scoping Meeting will be held at 4 p.m. on April 25 in M.S. 51’s auditorium, according to the Star-Revue. The community board's Environmental Committee will also meet to discuss the scoping with DCP on April 15, the Revue reported.