A 10-Story High-Rise Facing Brooklyn Botanic Garden Nears Approval

BROOKLYN, NY — A nearly seven-year battle over whether a sunlight-blocking apartment development can be built next to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is nearing the finish line, as the city council's zoning subcommittee unanimously approved the rezoning for the building on Tuesday morning.

The plans for the building, located at 962-972 Franklin Ave., have been adjusted one final time to further minimize casting shadows on the garden's precious and rare plants, the garden's President and CEO Adrian Benepe said.

Now, the top of the building will slant 10 degrees, Benepe said, from nine stories in the front of the building to 10 stories facing the other direction.

Previously, the City Planning Commission had approved a 15-degree slope, which would have cast longer shadows on the garden, Benepe said.

The side with nine stories will face the garden, and the side with 10 stories will face away from the garden, according to the diagram.

"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."

The deal between the city, the developers, and the garden was brokered in large part by City Councilmember Crystal Hudson, who represents District 35, which covers Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, and Crown Heights.

"We fought for sunlight, and we won," Hudson said.

Next, the Land Use Committee will vote on the rezoning proposal. Since the rezoning subcommittee approved the proposal, it is likely to be passed by the Land Use Committee.

After the Land Use Committee votes, the proposal will go to the City Council floor for a final vote on Nov. 21, before going to the mayor's desk.

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 some 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.

Continuum Company did not respond to a request for comment, but the article will be updated if they respond.

The latest plan for the building

The building is now proposed to include 10 stories with 355 units of housing, 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.

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

If the building gets approved, 30 percent of its units would be classified as permanently affordable, 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.

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

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