Last-Minute Deal Paves Way For Atlantic Avenue Study, Apartment Towers

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A long-awaited commitment from city planners to study a rapidly-changing section of Prospect and Crown Heights has paved the way for two controversial apartment towers on the corridor, according to Council Member Crystal Hudson.

Hudson — who previously didn't support the 1034 and 870 Atlantic Ave. complexes — said Tuesday that a last-minute deal with developers and the city had earned her support for the proposals, the latest in a flurry of developments on Atlantic Avenue.

Perhaps the most significant part of the deal was a commitment from City Planning to take on a study of the Atlantic Avenue area that advocates have been pushing for nearly a decade.

Some residents had most recently urged officials to reject any individual developments until the city undertook such a plan, which they hope would curb rampant gentrification by setting parameters for the development boom and beef up infrastructure and other resources.

"I’m proud to announce that [Mayor Eric Adams'] administration and the Department of City Planning have agreed to prioritize and expedite a rezoning of the Atlantic Avenue corridor and wholeheartedly support an accompanying community plan," Hudson told the Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, which voted on the Atlantic Avenue projects four hours late Tuesday, presumably to give time to hash out the deal.

"The community plan would ensure this part of my district is ready for the massive influx in population we’ve already seen and that would continue given all the recent new development," Hudson added.

The Atlantic Avenue projects were approved Tuesday by both the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and the Council's Land Use Committee. They will head next to the full legislature, where given Hudson's support they will almost certainly be approved.

Asked about a timeline for the plan, city planners told Patch that it would get "underway in the months to come."

"Mayor Adams and DCP have worked for years with local stakeholders to advance a full neighborhood plan and we look forward to working with Council Member Hudson, local leaders, and community members," Director Daniel R. Garodnick said in a statement.

Hudson's deal also included adding more — and cheaper — affordable apartments to the two buildings and getting developers to contribute $200,000 to organizations fighting displacement in the neighborhood.

Under the deal, 35 percent of the 200 or so apartments in each building will be set aside as affordable. Nearly all the affordable spots will go to those making between 40 and 60 percent of the area median income, or between $38,000 and $57,000 a year for a family of two, Hudson said. A small portion will go to those making 80 percent of the area median income, or $76,000 for a family of two.

"I want to make it clear these two applications represent a paradigm shift — today we have shown that developers can do more," Hudson said, noting that the affordability goes beyond what is required in the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program. "We can ask all developers at a minimum to do the same thing going forward."

The deal did not impress activists who had urged Hudson to reject the Atlantic Avenue towers.

"I'm very disappointed by the vote today," said Sarah Lazur, a neighbor who is also a member Crown Heights Tenant Union and Community Board 8. "The community has been clear in saying that we want to be involved in decision-making about the future of our neighborhood, and despite the Dept. of City Planning finally making some long-awaited moves towards community planning for this area, the council member made a last-minute closed-door arrangement with the developers."

Another advocate said she was "devastated" by Hudson's decision.

"Once again, Black & Brown folks have been abandoned by the politicians they supported in favor of big business," Crown Heights Tenant Union Mimi Mitchell wrote Patch in an email.

Activists like the Crown Heights Tenant Union have long held that even apartment towers with affordable spots are not enough to quell displacement of longtime residents, particularly people of color, created by increasingly expensive market-rate units.

Mitchell has told Patch she is the only person of color left in her 16-unit Prospect Heights apartment building, which was filled with nearly all Black and Brown residents when she moved in 12 years ago.

Hudson said Tuesday she plans to "continue to fight for" more anti-displacement investment from the city and comprehensive plans for other parts of the district.