New Rumblings at 360 Smith Street

Is there a miniature game of Beat the Clock underway with the controversial building at 360 Smith Street and others in Carroll Gardens? A text amendment to city zoning that would change an odd city definition that has defined a number of very narrow street in Carroll Gardens as being wide (allowing taller buildings) is in process. Yesterday, City Council Member Bill de Blasio's District Director sent out an email with the timetable for the change:

City Planning is now applying the text amendment to all place blocks (1st,2nd,3rd,4th), 2nd street as well as President St. and Carroll St. between Smith and Hoyt. We are still on track for an early April Certification with a 30 day clock on both the BP and the CB in respect to their public hearings.

Meanwhile:

1) The always lively Carroll Gardens rumor mill is reporting that there might be a holdup in securing financing for the project. Crazy speculation or reflection of the deteriorating credit environment and real estate market?

2) How much of the plaza at the Carroll Street subway stop that is much loved by residents will be lost with development of the new building? The Carroll Gardens Brooklyn History blog produced an image showing the plaza with the one-third that would be lost to the new building show in red. The blog writes:

The residents of Carroll Gardens will lose one-third (22-feet) of the Second Place Subway Plaza...and an important neighborhood tradition, when developer William Stein’s controversial out-of-context condominium complex is built over the subway plaza.

The "lost plaza" is in red in the image below.