Towers Near BK Botanic Gardens Get Official No Vote From CPC

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — The City Planning Commission has officially rejected a rezoning that would have made way for controversial apartment towers near the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

The commission voted unanimously on Wednesday against the 960 Franklin Ave. rezoning, a month after first indicating that they planned to do so.

The official vote comes a week after developers, anticipating the vote, sued the city over the Planning Commission's review of a 17-story alternative to the original 34-story towers. CPC Chair Marisa Lago had told developers that the alternate design was submitted too late to be considered.

The developers, Continuum, claim the alternate version — submitted to appease opponents who worry about the towers' shadow on the nearby Brooklyn Botanic Gardens — was submitted in line with the CPC's own deadlines, and should have been reviewed before a vote.

The lawsuit is the latest in an ongoing back-and-forth surrounding the 960 Franklin Ave. development, which has been shot down by the local community board and the Brooklyn Borough President.

The developer have themselves faced two lawsuits surrounding the proposal given the harmful shadows the building would cast gardens and the level of affordability of its apartments.
Mayor Bill de Blasio also already came out against the rezoning.

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.

The 17-story alternative would include nearly 300 apartments designated as affordable with a $31,840 to $103,480 salary range, plans show.