Brooklyn President Rejects Controversial Crown Heights Armory Plan

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has become the latest local politician to reject a controversial City Hall-backed plan to redevelop a vacant armory in Crown Heights.

In a statement released Friday evening, Adams panned the city's proposal to build luxury condos at the historic Bedford Union Armory site. After renovations, the new Armory would also house a community rec center and affordable office space for local nonprofits.

Adams' formal recommendation is only advisory in nature, as part of the city's lengthy land-use review process. But his opinion holds a lot of sway. And Adams' name is just one on a growing list of high-profile figures who have formally rejected the proposal, which was selected by the city's Economic Development Corporation and has the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Community Board 9 also voted near-unanimously against the plan.

"My recommendations for the future of the Bedford Union Armory site are based on thousands of community voices that I have heard through various channels over the past several years," Adams said Friday. "Local residents of Crown Heights and all Brooklynites deserve transparency. It is important that we have as much information as possible before any final decision is made on these applications."

The city chose private firm BFC Partners to develop the armory on the corner of Union Street and Bedford Avenue. The housing portion of the developer's plan includes 330 rental units and 56 townhouse-style condos.

Of the rental units, about half will go for market-level prices, while 30 percent will go to families making less than 110 percent of the "area median income" ($85,437 per year for a family of three). Another 15 percent of the rentals will be set aside for families making under 50 percent ($38,835) of this median income, and 5 percent for families making under 40 percent ($31,068).

SEE ALSO: Bedford-Union Armory Project Begins City Review: What You Need To Know

That breakdown is unacceptable to some in the community — including the borough president, as of Friday. A statement from his office said Adams is committed to "maximizing the delivery of affordable housing on-site through multiple income tiers including both increasing the supply of deeply affordable housing units and providing more upper-tier affordable housing units."

Adams' office said the top-tier housing options should fully subsidize the rec center, including some user fees. But BFC Partners has said the current housing breakdown is the only economically feasible option.

"We’re committed to providing a new affordable recreation center, affordable office space for non-profits and affordable housing for the Crown Heights community," Sam Spokony, a spokesman for BFC Partners, told Patch in an emailed statement. "As the Bedford-Union Armory continues to sit vacant, this is an opportunity to make it a place that truly serves local families."

The plan will now go before the city's planning commission and then to the city council for a formal vote. City Councilmember Laurie Cumbo, who represents the area, has also vowed to vote against the project. The city council generally defers to local members on land-use issues.

"This is our opportunity to get this right," Adams said in a statement. "This process has gone through years of debate, emotions, and public scrutiny, both for and against the development. We must ultimately come together and find the right balance that is the ideal solution for the future of Crown Heights, and for the optimal reuse of the Bedford Union Armory as a public resource."

(Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)