Brooklyn Development Booms, Overtakes Other Boroughs

Brooklyn is where the developer action is — not Manhattan or any other borough. More new-building permits were filed in Brooklyn in April than anywhere else in the five boroughs, according to an analysis of Department of Buildings data by The Real Deal. (You may remember last month, its analysis found more development in Bed Stuy than any other neighborhood in the city.)

But, it was a slow month in general, the story acknowledged. Here are the stats: 17 residential projects with a total of 495 units as well as one commercial project filed in Brooklyn. That far outstrips the next runner-up, Queens, where four residential projects with a total of 117 units and two commercial projects were filed.

It’s not just a blip, though. We can’t walk four blocks without running into a green construction fence and something to photograph and write up. This is true even in heavily landmarked areas such as Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope — although the scale of construction in areas such as Williamsburg, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, Bed Stuy, and Bushwick is just mind boggling. Above, the construction site at 500 Metropolitan Avenue two weeks ago, where the foundation has been poured for Chetrit Group’s ambitious M500 hotel.

Thanks to downzoning under Bloomberg, a fair amount of development is more or less low rise, more or less in keeping with the scale of residential areas. De Blasio’s proposed changes to the zoning code, currently under review by community boards, could alter that by a few stories.

Brooklyn needs housing but it also needs to remain Brooklyn, not turn into Manhattan. We don’t think Brooklyn is in danger of becoming another Manhattan — yet. Though 4th Avenue below 9th Street, now full of huge empty lots where construction has not yet started, will look completely different in a few years.

New Development in Brooklyn Far Outstrips Manhattan in Slow Month [TRD]