Crown Heights Armory Developer Grilled At Council Hearing

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — The developer chosen to transform Crown Heights' Bedford-Union Armory, along with the city corporation that's overseeing the project, were grilled for more than an hour on Tuesday at a city council hearing focused on the plan.

The hearing was the first major milestone for the project since a contentious city council election that focused on the controversial development plan for the site.

City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, who was reelected to her seat by a wide margin in both the primary and general election, didn't appear to be backing down from her stance that the breakdown in affordable rentals was not acceptable and that she wouldn't approve a deal that included market-rate condominiums.

"There is a need to continue to look at the affordability here," James Patchett, the president of the city's Economic Development Corporation, said when discussing the rates of rental units. "We hope to continue in those conversations with you."

Cumbo said time was running out to do that.

"Your response has been very, 'We’re looking into,' 'We hear you,' 'We've heard.' But we as a council are not seeing," she said.

"The seeing and the thinking and the hearing are going to have to translate into something for this proposal to even be considered," Cumbo said, calling it "inappropriate" to come to the hearing with no significant changes to the project.

The armory development has become a flashpoint in a neighborhood experiencing rapid gentrification.

The plan calls for the vacant armory to be transformed into a rec center and affordable office space for local nonprofits. But the housing portion of the plan has come under heavy fire from some in the community.

Developer BFC Partners wants to build 56 market-rate condos and 330 rental units at the site. About half of the rentals will also go for market-rate prices, while the rest are broken down into tiers of affordability.

Only about 17 percent of all of those housing units will be available to families making less than $95,000 per year. The median income in Crown Heights is about $40,000 to $45,000 per year.

"You're basically saying that almost 300 or so of the 330 rentals are all over the area's median income," City Councilman Mark Treyger said. "So people are asking the question, affordable for who? Who is this actually affordable to?"

Community Board 9 nearly unanimously voted against the project and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams recommended against it as part of the city's lengthy land-use review process. The City Planning Commission approved the plan, but it could die in the city council should Cumbo make good on her promise to vote no.

Patchett said that changes are possible at the site to make sure that doesn't happen.

"You’ve heard the mayor express a willingness to put a city subsidy into this housing project," he noted.

Cumbo, though, reiterated throughout the afternoon's hearing that a concrete plan to make the housing more affordable will need to be put together soon.

"This is a huge opportunity potentially for our community," Cumbo said. "I am disappointed that there were not more opportunities for us to hear how the city plans to effectively invest subsidy, how they’re going to remove the condominiums. All of these are subject to question marks.

"I’ve heard a lot of 'We’re looking,' 'We’re investigating,' 'We’re talking about,' 'We’re thinking.' Those times are over."

Photo by BFC Partners