REMARKS
Council Member Riley Shares Concerns About the 962 Pacific Street Rezoning
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7 min
In this chapter, Council Member Kevin Riley elaborates on the concerns regarding the 962 Pacific Street rezoning proposal, emphasizing its clash with the neighborhood’s comprehensive plan, AAMUP. Riley highlights the negative impact of bypassing city-wide planning for individual developments, stressing the importance of a coordinated approach to ensure sustainable growth, and protect existing communities in Brooklyn. The discussion extends to the broader implications for affordable housing, local business pressures, and manageable city planning.
Speaker 1
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Thank you, counsel.
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I would like to start my remarks with the 3rd development proposal, which as I stated at the public hearing is an unusual proposal that raises an important issue that I would like to further discuss.
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The proposal at issue is our private application known as the 962 Pacific street rezoning project.
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The development site is located in Councilmember Hudson's District in Brooklyn.
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Ryof Atlantic Avenue between Grand Ave And Cla Claxton Ave.
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This is an unusual proposal because it's seeking to resume property that's located within an area that is a subject of a neighborhood planning process initiated by the Department of City Planning.
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The plan known as AIM UP, the Atlantic Avenue mixed use plan was announced by DCP in April of 2022.
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And the public engagement process started in January of 2023.
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This is not a new initiative, but an effort that is well underway and about which the private applicant for 962 Pacific Street is well aware.
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The Department of City Planning, which is co lead in the plan along with council member of Hassan has publicly stated that AIM UP is scheduled to start Yuluk the official public reviewing process later this spring.
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And at the end of this well established process, AIMA will be formally voted upon by the city council.
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The important issue that is before the subcommittee today is why an individual project application should be allowed to bypass an ongoing comprehensive plan in process that is in the final stages.
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A city of 8,500,000 people that geographically size and diversity of New York City cannot be planned for a managed project by project.
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Neighborhood plans provide the needed framework to ensure adequate open space and safe pedestrian circulation.
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This is especially true when a neighborhood is along a major transportation corridor such as Atlantic Avenue.
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Neighbors plans also ensuring needed infrastructure is planned for that effective economy economy Economic development plans are prepared to address the needs of local businesses and above all that needs of existing residents are addressed.
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Neighbour plans are particularly important in areas that have seen a series of uncoordinated individual rezonas over a relatively short period of time.
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Such uncoordinated development places real strings on the communities.
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We have seen it over and over again in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn.
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Unless there is intentional targeted efforts to ensure that local residents can afford the new housing build.
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Long standing residents are pushed out.
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There also needs to be initiatives to ensure long standing residents can afford to stay in their homes.
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Council member Hudson's district has seen a 20% decline in the black population over the last decade.
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Uncoordinated development also creates economic pressure on local businesses through Verizon commercial rents.
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It strains local excuse me.
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It strains local public resources such as parks, schools, buses, subway stations, and can overly overwhelm local infrastructure.
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This is why back in December of 2022, This council under the leadership of speaker Adrian E Adams releasing plan release planning and land use guidelines to focus on the city's land use process on the need for comprehensive planning.
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Council member Hudson and the Department of City planning have been working hard to finalize a community driven comprehensive plan where the individual development proposal is located.
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This part of Brooklyn has had no less than 8 individual development rezoning between 20182022.
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Creating over 2000 residential units.
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Such uncoordinated development establishes a comprehensive plan as needed.
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If comprehensive plans such as the one that is underway are not prioritized over individual private proposals, our city will grow increasingly unaffordable, congested, and less livable.
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The bottom line is that New York City is an extremely complicated ecosystem that needs to be properly planned and managed.
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And this is exactly what AIMAP is trying to achieve.
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We heard that the public hearing that this project should be approved because it is going to bring much needed affordable housing to this neighborhood.
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No one is disputing that.
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This neighborhood needs affordable housing.
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First of all, affordable housing is exactly what the comprehensive plan is seeking to achieve by planning for over 1200 affordable units.
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The development site that we are discussing today is in the area that the comprehensive plan is intended to rezone to residential.
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So today's vote is not about 4 Gore Housing because this site will be rezoned for residential use as a part of the larger comprehensive plan.
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2nd, affordable housing is critical but cannot be developed in a vacuum overresidents needed, need access to services, access to public transportation, need to be able to cross safely, major to fares, thorough affairs, such as Atlantic Avenue, providing actual housing Excuse me.
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Provided actual housing is only half the equation, you need to also plan for this housing.
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Today's vote is about maintaining the integrity of the city's planning process.
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There's a well adverse comprehensive plan for this very neighborhood underway that is scheduled to be finalized and voted by the end of the year.
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An individual project should not be allowed to sidestep this public planning process to pursue its own private interest.
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Until the comprehensive plan is finalized, we do not know for sure whether this individual proposal will be consistent with either the vision for this neighborhood or the intended capacity.
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This developer needs to weigh in line The city in partnership with local community and council member Hudson is finalizing the comprehensive plan that will allow this very development site to be redeveloped for housing.
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Let us rezone this development site as part of the ongoing comprehensive plan in a few short months and protect the integrity of the city's planning process.
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I would now like to turn the floor over to council member Hudson to further explain why she supports disapproving this proposal at the present time and rezoned this development site at the part of the larger comprehensive plan.
