Real Estate
BP Votes Against Towers Near Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
The borough president's vote is the latest hurdle for the controversial Franklin Avenue development, which will head next to city planners.
CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Apartment towers proposed for Franklin Avenue have gotten the thumbs down from the borough president, the latest in a series of hurdles for the controversial development.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams voted last week to disapprove the 960 Franklin Ave. project, which proposes changing zoning rules to make way for 39-story towers near the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.
As with the local community board, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Botanic Gardens leadership, Adams cited harmful shadows the building would cast on the gardens and other open space, as well as the level of affordability of the proposed apartments among his chief concerns.
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"Taking all these factors into consideration, it is clear that the disadvantages of the proposal and its enabling land use actions outweigh its potential adverse impacts on the community," he wrote.
The no vote is the latest backlash against the rezoning proposal, which developers have tried to modify at least twice throughout a contentious review process.
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Most recently, City Planning Director Marisa Lago said that a shorter, 17-story alternative to the proposed 39-story towers was submitted without enough time to be fully reviewed by the department's experts, who typically offer analysis of applications before the City Planning Commission votes. The commission is next up in the review process and has until Sept. 22 to make its recommendation.
The plan has also been shot down by Community Board 9 and has faced two lawsuits.
Developers tout the nearly 800 apartments that would be designated as affordable in the tallest form of the towers, though neighbors have said the $39,800 to $95,520 required salary range would not help those most in need of affordable housing.
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