City Council Backs Tweaked Development Near Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The City Council greenlit a rezoning proposal that will allow a long-planned development to rise on the former Spice Factory site in Crown Heights, putting to rest a years-long battle over the size of the proposed development and the amount of shade it will cast on the nearby Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

The City Council unanimously voted to approve the rezoning application at its meeting on Thursday, paving the way for a 10-story, 355-unit tower at 962-972 Franklin Avenue that will have a sloping plane restricted to 10 degrees to reduce the amount of sunlight vulnerable plants at the garden will lose.

The Franklin Avenue development faced major community opposition when it was first proposed by Continuum Company as two 34-story shade-casting towers, and the plan was ultimately killed due to the risks posed to the garden.

Plans for the complex, at a shorter 14 stories, were revived this year, and were again vehemently rejected by members of the community.

After a fraught public hearings process, Continuum, Council Member Crystal Hudson, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Department of City Planning announced earlier this month they had reached a deal that would allow a 10-story residential building to rise on the site.

In return for Continuum agreeing to the reduced height and sloping plane, Hudson and BBG supported the developer increasing the income bands of the affordable units. Instead of targeting families earning an average of 60 percent of Area Median Income, or $83,880 for a family of three, the rent-stabilized, income-restricted apartments will be aimed at families earning an average of 70 and 115 of Area Median Income. That works out to incomes of about $97,860 and $170,000 a year for a family of three. Included in the new plan are 106 apartments at the higher income levels, and the remaining 249 units will be market rate.

In a press release sent out when the deal was announced, Brooklyn Botanic Garden President Adrian Benepe said that after years of “discussion, debate, and vigorous public advocacy, the threat of permanent loss of sunlight for our living museum of plants is over.”

“We are grateful to our elected officials for their steadfast support and diligent work to craft a plan that ensures the sunlight that plants need to survive, protects the Garden from permanent damage, and enables affordable workforce housing,” he said.

As part of the deal, Continuum has also committed to funding a number of upgrades at Jackie Robinson Playground.

Now that the rezoning has been approved by the City Council, it will head to the mayor’s desk for final approval.

Related Stories

• New Deal: Proposed Spice Factory Tower Won’t Shadow Botanic Garden After All
• Crowd Defends, Again, Botanic Garden From Development Shadows at Heated Hearing
• Proposed Crown Heights Build Would Cast Harmful Shadows on Botanic Garden

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