The City Planning Commission (CPC) held a public hearing on the Arrow Linen rezoning on Wednesday, Nov 6. Our heartfelt thanks to our many supporters who came to the hearing and testified! The commissioners were engaged and asked great questions of the applicants and the folks who testified – 18 community members against the proposal, and 8, mostly from the Open New York lobbying group and not from the neighborhood in favor.
There is still time to send written testimony the CPC – we need everyone in our community to let them know where we stand! Please click the “Read more” link below for instructions.
Please read Brownstoner’s writeup of the hearing:
At the hearing, locals against the proposal said the number of luxury apartments included in the development and their likely high-income residents could push up prices in the area and that the rezoning of nearby houses created a displacement risk. They also said local infrastructure and resources can’t handle the development and that shade from the high-rises will shadow nearby senior housing and other properties, among other concerns.
They also accused Arrow Linen of lobbying local politicians with donations, of having undertaken no real community engagement, and said they didn’t trust the development team’s claims that they wouldn’t take advantage of City of Yes and build up to 19 stories.
Instructions to Send Written Testimony to the City Planning Commission:
- On this page, click the “Copy to Clipboard” button above any of the messages in the “Messages” section below that you want to submit, or the “Combined Message” section further down the page. This will copy the text of that message for you. You can also choose to write your own message if you prefer.
- Open the City Planning Comission Public Hearing Comments web page (this will open in a new tab)
- In the “Borough” field, select “Brooklyn“
- In the “Project” field, select “C 240280 ZMK – 441 & 467 Prospect Avenue Rezoning“
- Enter your Name and Zip Code
- Under “I represent”, select “myself“
- Under “I am”, select “opposed“
- In the “Comments” section, either hold down the Ctrl key and press V or right-click and select Paste. This will paste the message you copied on this page into the comments as your testimony.
- Click the “I’m not a robot” box
- Press the Submit button
- If you have trouble with the form, please reply to the email that brought you to this page or use our Contact form to let us know, and we’ll help!
Messages
Complete Lack of Community Engagement:
This is a greedy move by Arrow Linen to massively profit from the facility they have owned for 40+ years, while operating off a 25-year tax abatement subsidized by city taxpayers. Arrow has spent thousands of dollars on lobbying elected officials, and did not spend any time or resources meeting with the community. Arrow stands to profit hundreds of millions of dollars from this application, and the community has had zero input on this transformational project. I ask the Commission listen to CB7’s findings and uphold DCP’s stated mission “Work with neighborhoods to develop sound ground-up frameworks for growth”. I ask that you vote to disapprove this application so we can treat housing as a public good rather than a vehicle for massive profit.
Environmental Impacts are understated or ignored:
Stormwater issues and flooding are frequent occurrences across the neighborhood. While Arrow’s site stormwater would have to be better managed on-site pursuant to DEP regulations, there will be thousands of new sinks, toilets, showers and other fixtures flowing into the ancient, combined sewer system. We, the community, know our sewer systems are beyond capacity and this project will
exacerbate unsanitary flooding throughout the area. Arrow is also kicking the can down the road for environmental contamination impacts. They acknowledge that hazardous waste was improperly disposed of for 113 years. While remediation will be required, there is no plan and no experienced entity to lead this. Apex, the selected developer, does not have one completed construction project listed on its website. These impacts would all be increased by City of Yes, to an unknown extent. I am concerned about unsanitary flooding and local pollution impacts.
Contextual Zoning and Neighborhood Character:
I welcome new housing at this site, and I understand that we can build significant new housing at 7 stories or less that will complement the scale of the neighborhood. Arrow’s proposal will irreversibly alter the character of the neighborhood and undo prior DCP and community-led rezoning efforts. Arrow claims that up to 19-story towers on a midblock amongst 2 to 3-story surroundings buildings would “match the residential context and character of the neighborhood”. This is an objectively negligent and reckless assessment. The 13-19 story towers would cast shadows as far as Bartel Pritchard Square, Prospect Park, PS 10, Bishop Boardman senior gardens, and impact historic view corridors from Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery. Furthermore, the community has no clear idea how City of Yes would impact this proposal and the resulting building size. I ask for a revised, contextual zoning district based on a rational land use framework supported by the community to be implemented by the Commission.
Concerns About Renter Displacement:
The block around Arrow Linen has 59 units of rent-stabilized housing, and Prospect Avenue has the most affordable rents in the neighborhood. If Arrow is able to build 13-19 stories of luxury high-rises, this will encourage speculators and developers to buy everything around, and price our neighbors who rent in the area out of their homes. Arrow Linen is also proposing to rezone 11 privately-owned, multi-family buildings, and these owners have already been victims of predatory investor hawks. These buildings are
at great risk of acquisition and tenant displacement due to this application. Following the rezoning of 4th Ave, thousands of residents were displaced, and we lost nearly 1500 units of affordable housing. I ask that you vote to disapprove this application so we can treat housing as a public good rather than a vehicle for massive profit.
The Myth of Trickle-Down Affordable Housing:
Developers and lobbyists would have us believe that the only way to pull ourselves out of our dire housing shortage is by building new construction. For-profit new construction is overwhelmingly geared toward the luxury market, which has the highest vacancy rates. But it’s lower-income households who face the most severe affordable housing shortfalls. New construction takes decades to depreciate down to rents that are actually affordable to most renters and fuels displacement in the short term. Many residents in communities transformed by gentrification can already attest to the connection between for-profit development, rising living costs, and the mass exodus of lower-income residents. I ask that you vote to disapprove this application so we can treat housing as a public good rather than a vehicle for massive profit. We have a non-profit ready and willing to acquire the site at market rate and build 100%
affordable housing.
Combined Message – All The Reasons
Please disapprove the application for the following reasons:
Lack of Community Engagement:
This is a greedy move by Arrow Linen to massively profit from the facility they have owned for 40+ years, while operating off a 25-year tax abatement subsidized by city taxpayers. Arrow has spent thousands of dollars on lobbying elected officials, and did not spend any time or resources meeting with the community. Arrow stands to profit hundreds of millions of dollars from this application, and the community has had zero input on this transformational project. I ask the Commission listen to CB7’s findings and uphold DCP’s stated mission “Work with neighborhoods to develop sound ground-up frameworks for growth”.
Environmental Impacts:
Stormwater issues and flooding are frequent occurrences across the neighborhood. There will be thousands of new fixtures flowing into the ancient, combined sewer system. Our sewer systems are beyond capacity and this project will exacerbate unsanitary flooding. Arrow is also kicking the can down the road for environmental contamination impacts from the 113 years of dumping hazardous waste. There is no plan and no experienced entity to address remediation.
Contextual Zoning and Neighborhood Character:
I welcome more housing at this site; however, Arrow’s proposal will irreversibly alter the character of the neighborhood and undo prior DCP and community-led rezoning efforts. Arrow claims that up to 19-story towers on a midblock amongst 2 to 3-story surroundings buildings would “match the residential context and character of the neighborhood”. This is an objectively negligent and reckless assessment. Furthermore, the community has no clear idea how City of Yes would impact this rezoning and the resulting building size. I ask for a revised, contextual zoning district based on a rational land use framework.
Renter Displacement:
The block around Arrow Linen has 59 units of rent-stabilized housing, and Prospect Avenue has the most affordable rents in the neighborhood. If Arrow is able to build 13-19 stories of luxury high-rises, this will encourage speculators to price out our neighbors. Arrow Linen is also proposing to rezone 11 privately-owned, multi-family buildings, and these owners have already been victims of predatory speculators. These buildings are at great risk of acquisition and tenant displacement due to this application. Please vote to disapprove this application so we can treat housing as a public good rather than a vehicle for massive profit.
The Myth of Trickle-Down Affordable Housing:
Developers and lobbyists would have us believe that the only way to pull ourselves out of our dire housing shortage is by building new construction. For-profit new construction is overwhelmingly geared toward the luxury market, which has the highest vacancy rates. But it’s lower-income households who face the most severe affordable housing shortfalls, and we have a crisis of affordability. Please vote to disapprove this application so we can treat housing as a public good rather than a vehicle for massive profit. We have a non-profit ready and willing to acquire the site at market rate and build 100% affordable housing.