FOR RELEASE
CONTACT: Irsa Weatherspoon, Brooklyn Community Board 8
(718) 467-5574
brooklyncb8@gmail.com
April 14, 2025
Brooklyn Community Board 8 says Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use Plan should not be approved without long-sought public benefits
Advocates and Borough President join the call for deeply affordable housing,
industrial use incentives, and tenant legal assistance as requirements for moving forward
BROOKLYN, April 14: Community Board 8 in Brooklyn has adopted a resolution amending its prior conditional favorable recommendation for the Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use Plan (AAMUP). In its resolution, the Board advises the Brooklyn Borough President, the City Planning Commission and the City Council that its approval of the plan is contingent upon the final version of AAMUP
- providing the greatest number of deeply affordable apartments allowed under the City’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program (MIH);
- offering a density incentive for light industrial uses in mixed use zones, similar to that established in the 2021 Gowanus Rezoning; and
- supplying funds for legal assistance to tenants facing displacement by their landlord.
The Board stated it does not support approval of AAMUP without these elements.
The AAMUP rezoning grew from a Community Board 8 vision known as M-CROWN, whose planning begun in 2013. Since that time, M-CROWN has called for an underutilized low-density manufacturing district in north Crown Heights and Prospect Heights to be rezoned for residential use that would cross-subsidize both affordable housing and light industrial space, the latter to encourage creation of new jobs accessible to community members without a college education. In this way, M-CROWN anticipated both the MIH program approved in 2016, and the Gowanus Mix zoning approved in 2021. While awaiting the neighborhood rezoning finally released as AAMUP in 2024, several private rezonings were filed in the M-CROWN district, and the Board was able to negotiate with private applicants for both deeper affordability and ground floor area dedicated to desired uses.
“We expected at this point in the AAMUP review process to have received assurances that the rezoning would meet the Board’s long-time goals,” said Community Board 8 Chairperson Irsa Weatherspoon. “Now only weeks remain before the final City Council vote on AAMUP, and we understand that goals we have worked toward for more than a decade may not be achieved. The Board has made clear that will be unacceptable.”
“The approval of the Adams administration’s City of Yes plan made possible a requirement that new residential upzonings provide 20% deeply affordable housing under MIH,” said Sharon Wedderburn, chair of the Land Use Committee of Community Board 8. “Our community district suffers from one of the highest rates of displacement in New York City, and it’s critical that the AAMUP rezoning take advantage of this opportunity. Area Median Income simply rises too quickly for higher affordability levels to reach our at-risk population.”
Board member Gib Veconi said, “It’s troubling that this community would be asked to accept a neighborhood rezoning from the Department of City Planning that doesn’t provide the light industrial space and deep affordability the Board was previously able to negotiate with private developers on its own. DCP’s refusal to provide the necessary zoning tools to Crown Heights it previously approved for Gowanus literally adds insult to injury.”
“If the AAMUP rezoning is signed into law without a density incentive for light industrial uses, it will undermine a decade-long community planning process that was undertaken to ensure equitable growth in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood,” said Leah Archibald, Executive Director of north Brooklyn industrial development organization Evergreen. “It is imperative to create this incentive so that light manufacturers are encouraged to create jobs that are accessible to Brooklyn residents at all skill levels.”
“Future industrial development in the AAMUP rezoning area will rest on incentivizing investment into the kind of space that the industrial sector needs to thrive,” said Brian T. Coleman, Chief Executive Officer of the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center. “Space for jobs being created through a density incentive has been a top priority in this community planning process from the beginning and is absolutely essential to creating a truly mixed-use plan.”
“Tenants in this neighborhood need legal representation when they face evictions, lack of repairs, harassment, or threats to their rent stabilization, but NYC’s Right to Counsel program is under-funded and under-staffed, and doesn’t cover all the legal threats to tenants’ homes,” said Community Board 8 member Sarah Lazur. “Representation by counsel is their best chance to keep their apartments, and the City must be required to fund it as a part of this rezoning.”
“ANHD applauds Community Board 8’s strong stance to ensure the Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use Plan delivers true community benefits. Deep affordability, protections against tenant displacement, and meaningful support for light industrial jobs are not optional—they are essential to advancing equity and stability in a rapidly changing neighborhood,” said Barika X Williams, Executive Director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD) and resident of Brooklyn CB8.
“Crown Heights has spent years advocating for the community benefits that address the needs of residents and achieve the long-term goals of the neighborhood. I am proud to stand with Community Board 8 in calling for an AAMUP plan that reflects this decade of work – a plan that includes deeply affordable housing, incentives for industrial use, and tenant legal assistance,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “I urge DCP not to miss this opportunity to demonstrate planning for the public good.”
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About Brooklyn Community Board 8: Brooklyn Community Board 8 advises the City of New York with respect to the needs and concerns of more than 100,000 residents of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Weeksville through its authority under the New York City Charter. The Board is composed of up to fifty unsalaried individuals who either live in or have an interest in the community, selected to serve by the Borough President or local City Council representatives. For more information about Brooklyn Community Board 8, visit https://www.brooklyncb8.org/.
About ANHD: The Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development Inc. is a 50 year old umbrella organization representing 80+ non-profit community groups across New York City, dedicated to building community power to win affordable housing and thriving, equitable neighborhoods for all New Yorkers. ANHD knows that current housing and economic development policies disadvantage and deliberately silence low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color. We use research, advocacy, and organizing, paired with capacity building and technical assistance to support our members in their work. And through movement building with our members, we build community power to build equity and justice in our neighborhoods and city-wide. For more information about ANHD, visit http://www.anhd.org.
About Evergreen: Founded in 1982, Evergreen: Your North Brooklyn Business Exchange (“Evergreen”) is a nonprofit membership organization that champions manufacturing, creative production, and industrial service businesses in North Brooklyn and other industrial business zones (“IBZ”) within the borough. Evergreen connects businesses with direct technical assistance, opportunities and advocacy to help create and maintain high quality jobs at all skill levels. For more information about Evergreen, visit https://evergreenexchange.org/.
About the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center: The Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC) is the premier nonprofit industrial developer in New York City with a portfolio spanning 724,000 square feet of industrial space that is home to more than 130 businesses and 760 workers. Since its inception in 1992, GMDC has rehabilitated and built new manufacturing buildings in New York City for occupancy by small manufacturing enterprises, artisans and artists and the organization currently owns and manages seven of these properties including one at 1102 Atlantic Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. For more information about GMDC, visit https://gmdconline.org/.