Neighbors Brace For Council Vote On Controversial Atlantic Ave Towers

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A City Council vote on two Atlantic Avenue apartment towers expected next week could mark a turning point in north Prospect and Crown Heights, where neighbors have long asked that such projects be rejected in favor of a city-led zoning plan for the area.

The 870 and 1034 Atlantic Ave. towers will be the first in a flurry of developments on the corridor to face newly-elected Council Member Crystal Hudson, who has joined neighbors in urging for that city-led zoning plan and previously vowed to vote against the two projects.

A no vote from Hudson would likely seal the fate for the proposals given a tradition of deferring to local council members on land use decisions, though that practice has come into question in recent years.

Activists who started a petition in anticipation of the vote are bracing themselves for the outcome.

"We’re definitely giving [Council Member Hudson] a chance to prove that she is really on our side," said Crown Heights Tenant Union member Esteban Giron. "This is a good place to do that."

Agendas for the City Council hearings next week have not yet been released, but the legislative body has until April 14 to vote on both 870 and 1034 Atlantic Ave. under the city's land review process deadline. Hudson's office did not immediately answer questions from Patch about her plans for the vote.

Both Atlantic Avenue projects propose building 17-story apartment towers, though developers have said they are willing to shrink the projects to 15 stories after negotiations with Community Board 8, who voted against the buildings late last year but included a list of desired changes.

Read More: 2 More Towers On Brooklyn's Atlantic Ave Rejected By CB Committee

Each tower would bring around 200 apartments, a portion of which would be designated as affordable.

But 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 created by increasingly expensive market-rate units. Newly-built affordable units are often at an income level too high for those that need them, they say.

"Our Brown and Black neighbors are disappearing," said CHTU member Mimi Mitchell, who in 12 years has become the only person of color in her 16-unit Prospect Heights building, which was once nearly completely Black and Brown.

"We as Black and Brown people built this community, we maintained it, we welcomed others into it — but that doesn’t mean our needs get to be ignored."

Local leaders have contended that a comprehensive plan from the city could constrain rampant gentrification in the neighborhood by steering development toward a northern section, known as MCROWN, to spur affordable housing and job growth. Community Board 8 has created its own framework for how to do so, but the city hasn't taken on an official rezoning plan.

Most recently, local officials have argued about whether to focus solely on pushing for that neighborhood-wide plan, or keep negotiating with individual developers in the meantime to maximize community benefits.

"What we’re seeing is a chiseling away to achieve this plan," said Peter Krashes, who is also president of the Prospect Heights North Association and a public member of CB8's Land Use Committee. "That’s letting the city off the hook. We have to draw a line here."

Note: Patch editor Kathleen Culliton previously published an article on the Atlantic Avenue developments that misstated its approval status, erroneously reporting it had passed in City Council, based on a misinterpretation of council records.