Hearing for Controversial Boerum Hill Tower Postponed, Public Review Expected to Start Soon

When we last checked in on 80 Flatbush Avenue, the controversial development plan at the nexus of Boerum Hill, Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn, local residents were concerned that the 74-story tower — the highest of a pair — is too tall for the surrounding neighborhood.

This was before Alloy, the developer and architect of the project, had even started the official public review process, or ULURP, which was expected to begin in January 2018.

But a scheduled public hearing on the matter for February 13 has been postponed, we’ve been told, due to the environmental review not being completed on time.

Without the environmental review, the first steps of the ULURP process can’t begin. It’s now expected that the City Planning Commission will certify the application at their review session on February 12.

CB2 is anticipating a new public hearing will be scheduled in early to mid March, although a date and location have not been confirmed.

The development, which will occupy a whole block, calls for two towers, 900 apartments — including 200 affordable units — and two schools. Two historic buildings will be retained, although not the fairly ordinary two buildings covered in artist Katie Merz’s recently completed murals.

Alloy’s other developments include 1 John Street in Dumbo and the Dumbo Townhouses at 55 Water Street, whose somewhat Brutalist design was a hit with architecture buffs and critics.

Their proposal is part of a trend of large developments that locals say are out of scale with low-rise Brooklyn, such as the coming supertall at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension next to the landmarked Dime Savings Bank and Cobble Hill’s Long Island College Hospital (LICH), which Mayor de Blasio campaigned against and ultimately did not receive a rezoning.

Related Stories

• Locals Say Alloy’s Downtown Brooklyn Mega-Project Is Too Tall, Blocks Historic Tower
• Watch Artist Katie Merz Create a Mural on Future Site of Controversial DoBro Tower on Flatbush
• How Six Controversial Proposed Skyscrapers Will Radically Transform Brooklyn’s Skyline

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