It was “nay” all the way.
Civic gurus on Wednesday unanimously rejected a real-estate firm’s plan for a five-building megadevelopment on the edge of Boerum Hill.
Members of Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee shot down the controversial 80 Flatbush project — whose builder wants the city to green-light its upzoning application in order to erect 74- and 38-story towers as part of a complex that incorporates residential, commercial, cultural, and classroom spaces on a lot bordered by Flatbush and Third avenues and State and Schermerhorn streets — in a 10–0 vote with one abstention.
Committee members charged the high-rises’ proposed density — which is triple the size of what zoning laws currently allow on the lot — and height are both too large for structures in the low-rise neighborhood, echoing other locals’ complaints that the development’s size would be “unprecedented” for the enclave, and that its taller tower will block precious light from green things growing in the community.
The committee took little time to cast its vote, coming to a consensus roughly 15 minutes after first raising the proposal as attendees applauded and cheered in support.
The quick decision followed two-and-a-half hours of members belaboring the details of other requests before them, which included making minor tweaks to single-family homes in the area, and altering an Adidas sign on a landmarked Fulton Street building.
Community Board 2’s full board will cast its advisory vote on the scheme on May 9, about two weeks following Borough President Adams’s April 30 public hearing on the proposal, after which he will issue his own recommendation. The upzoning application then moves on to the City Planning Commission, Council, and finally Mayor DeBlasio, who will ultimately decide its fate.
80 Flatbush public hearing at Borough Hall (209 Joralemon St. between Court Street and Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard in Downtown) on April 30 at 6 pm.
