The group of protesters gathered at City Hall was small but highly vocal as the battle for the future of Prospect-Lefferts Gardens continued to be waged on Friday afternoon. At issue is a 23-story luxury tower proposed by developer Hudson Companies that residents say will not only cast a long shadow across Prospect Park but hamper residents' ability to afford to live in their own "gloriously mixed neighborhood." "Our median income is $41,000 for a family of fourdoes it make sense to insert a building where studios cost $1,900 [per month]?" asked Leah Margulies, PLG resident and member of the Prospect Park East Network, the group that organized the protest. The planned tower, which a judge actually halted, in a small victory for the group, via a temporary restraining order last week, would be made up of 80 percent market-rate apartments and 20 percent affordable.
Currently, there are no height restrictions on buildings in a two-block area east of Prospect Park, which means Hudson Companies can erect the tower on 626 Flatbush Avenue, between Fenimore and Hawthorne streets, "as of right." So residents want to change the zoning to limit structures to 80 feet, which would reflect that in place for Prospect Park West, where most buildings are eight s
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