Updating Zoning In North Crown Heights Lands On Mayor's To-Do List

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Pleas for a zoning plan for a rapidly-changing section of northern Crown Heights seemed to have gotten a boost from Mayor Eric Adams.

The mayor said Wednesday that coming up with a plan for the area surrounding Atlantic Avenue — where neighbors have long asked for help curbing rampant gentrification — will be part of his sweeping proposal to change zoning laws to spur more housing.

"Along Atlantic Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, there’s an area with outdated zoning," the mayor said Wednesday. "We’re already working with Council Member [Crystal] Hudson, [Chi] Ossé and the entire city council to develop a plan that will benefit a major swath of Brooklyn."

Though the mayor offered few specifics about how he would tackle a plan for the area, its status as a priority in the plan will likely come as welcome news to local officials and advocates who have bene pushing for years to get the Atlantic Avenue corridor on to-do list for the city's top officials.

Adams' shout out comes after Councilmember Crystal Hudson got his administration to commit to studying the area in a last-minute deal to approve the latest in a flurry of apartment towers proposed for Atlantic Avenue.

Asked Wednesday, planning officials said the mayor's pledge to come up with a plan for the area relates to the same study.

"We are still in the early days of all these proposals and look forward to hearing from and working with local stakeholders to help shape these plans ahead of a formal public review process," a spokesperson told Patch.

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 has waited years for the city to take on an official rezoning plan.

In the meantime, some residents have urged officials to reject any individual developments until the city undertook such a plan. They contend 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.

Read more about the mayor's zoning proposal here:

• 'Yes In My Backyard': Mayor Vows More Housing In Sweeping Zoning Plan