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When it comes to ensuring that
Brooklyn is a safe and a ordable place
for all its residents to live, work and go to
school, Borough President Adams wants
the community front and center in planning
for the future. With the proposed rezoning
of East New York, the mixed-use
redevelopments of the Bedford-Union
Armory in Crown Heights and the Flatbush
Caton Market in Flatbush, as well
as continued development throughout
Downtown Brooklyn and other burgeoning
neighborhoods, he is taking an active
role alongside everyday Brooklynites in
laying out a vision for proper planning.
“As the City looks to rezone neighborhoods
like East New York, it is vital
that opportunities for its long-time
residents are developed and ensured
as well,” said Borough President Adams,
referring to the fi rst of a proposed
15 e orts across the fi ve boroughs
to stimulate the development
of a ordable housing. “Rezonings
over the past decade in Coney Island,
Downtown Brooklyn, Greenpoint, and
Williamsburg have left Brooklynites
understandably concerned about the
attention to fi ghting displacement,
as well as the dedication to fulfi lling
promised aspects of community development.”
In the proposed rezoning by the
New York Department of City Planning
(DCP) of approximately 200 blocks
across Cypress Hills, East New York,
and Ocean Hill, Borough President
Adams wants to create as many units
of a ordable housing as possible —
a ordable, most especially, to the
people currently living in those communities.
During a January hearing on
the proposal at Brooklyn Borough Hall,
he presented his recommendations on
the plan, which were based on conversations
with community residents, activists,
and local elected o cials.
To ensure the a ordable housing
generated benefi ts existing residents,
Borough President Adams made a
number of proposals, including a
mandate that housing created under
the rezoning remain permanently affordable,
additional resources to prevent
the displacement of tenants, as
well as the development of additional
housing units for working families
on City-owned lots. Additionally, his
analysis called for memorializing City
plans to address quality-of-life issues
that will accompany an increased population,
such as access to jobs, su -
cient school seats, quality open space,
and reliable transportation.
Borough President Adams’ consideration
of borough needs has crossed
neighborhood lines, as exemplifi ed
by his proposal to relocate government
o ces from Downtown Brooklyn
to Broadway Junction, which would
bring needed City services to an underserved
community while freeing
up o ce space in Brooklyn’s hub for
economic activity. This was one of several
ideas that also emanated from “A
Decade Later in Downtown Brooklyn,”
Brooklyn’s Future:
a report he released in February analyzing
the consequences of the 2004
Downtown Brooklyn rezoning. The effort,
which was intended to reinforce
the position of the neighborhood as a
regional central business district, has
contributed to a dramatic increase in
residential rather than commercial
development, straining the capacity
of existing infrastructure. As a result,
he recommended DCP and the New
York City Economic Development Corporation
(EDC) convene a task force to
revisit local needs, including enhancements
to open space with a fully builtout
Brooklyn Strand, additional public
school seats and transit options, safer
pedestrian and cycling connections,
as well as improved access to health
care facilities.
“In many ways the 2004 rezoning
was a success…but unfortunately,
much of the premise for the rezoning
has not been met, namely making
Downtown Brooklyn a 21st century
business and commercial district,”
wrote Borough President Adams in his
report. “The gap between what was
assumed for the 2004 analysis and
what has been developed warrants
a fresh look at how to accommodate
past and future growth and direct necessary
capital budget investment.”
The same ambition to build neighborhoods
that work for the people of
Brooklyn has informed the partnership
between Borough President Adams
and community organizations,
local residents, and other elected offi
cials in their endeavors to redevelop
key sites in the borough. This starts
with the transformed Flatbush Caton
Market; supported by capital funding
from Borough President Adams, the
new mixed-use site will feature an
expanded and renovated market for
local entrepreneurs, o ce space for
the Caribbean American Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (CACCI), and
150 units of a ordable housing.
“From the beginning of my administration
at Brooklyn Borough
Hall, I have been focused on delivering
a high-quality mixed-use project
that would re-energize the Flatbush
Caton Market and be worthy of the
surrounding Flatbush community,”
said Borough President Adams. “The
Flatbush Caton Market will continue
to hum with the heartbeat of our
rich Caribbean diaspora as it serves
Brooklyn and beyond for years to
come.”
Borough President Adams has
also been deeply focused on the community
e ort to reactivate the historic
Bedford Union Armory, a long-vacant
building which will now include hundreds
of units of a ordable housing, a
multi-sport recreational facility, community
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Photo: Stefan Ringel/Brooklyn BP’s O ce
event space, o ce space and
commercial space.
“Activating the Bedford Union Armory
has been a labor of love, a truly
community-driven process where
the residents of Crown Heights have
ensured their voices were heard,” he
said. “Thanks to the thoughtful input
of engaged Brooklynites, we can proceed
with a plan that adds tremendous
value to a growing neighborhood.”
The development of Downtown
Brooklyn and East New York, as well
as the redevelopment of the Bedford
Union Armory and Flatbush Caton
Market, are only part of the vision
that Borough President Adams has
for plotting out the future of Brooklyn.
Among his other e orts are
plans to advance the Brooklyn Waterfront
Greenway between Bay Ridge
and Greenpoint; develop a ordable
housing along Broadway in Bedford-
Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Ocean Hill, and
Williamsburg; open a community justice
center in Brownsville; build out
sewer infrastructure in Coney Island;
as well as establish a museum to the
USS Monitor in Greenpoint. Through
it all, Borough President Adams will
continue to explore how best to build
up Brooklyn from a solid foundation,
growing from the grassroots of an
engaged community.
Borough President Adams joined City leaders and
local elected officials to unveil plans for redeveloping
the Flatbush Caton Market, a commercial and cultural
institution in Flatbush.
A True Community Plan
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