Fort Greene & Clinton Hill Rezoning Passes City Council

The City Council voted to approve a rezoning of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill that will make it harder to put up tall buildings on residential blocks in the two neighborhoods. The Council held a hearing on the plan on Monday and voted to pass it yesterday. The City Planning Commission had voted in favor of the plan on July 11. An 18-story as-of-right building under the old zoning helped propel the rezone to the forefront. Brownstoner has been following the 163 Washington saga, including the posting of a mashup rendering showing how the building would look. In a variation of what happened when rezoning was considered in the South Slope, the developers have been racing to pour a foundation before the rezone passed. The rezone will allow taller, denser buildings to rise on Fulton Street and Myrtle Avenue. Rezonings of Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton were also approved. The rezones contain provisions encouraging developers to include affordable housing in return for density bonuses. The technique has met with mixed success in neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, where many developers have opted not to take the density bonuses and are putting up buildings that exclusively cater to high-end buyers.