Bushwick rezoning is back on the table as means for creating affordable housing

UPDATE: A previous version of this article stated that this will be the first time the Bushwick Community Plan will be presented to city agencies, but in fact city agencies have been working together with the community throughout the process, which began in 2014.

The plan to transform the Rheingold Brewery site in Bushwick did not go down too well with local residents and ever since that plan was approved residents and local elected officials have been pushing to control future development through a neighborhood rezoning.

Efforts kicked off in 2014, and members of local organizations, Community Board 4, and local residents have been meeting continuously since to hash out the details of this plan. On February 11, various city agencies, City Council members Antonio Reynoso and Rafael Espinal, and Bushwick residents will convene to discuss what they’re calling The Bushwick Community Plan, DNAinfo first reported.

The community plan seeks to address a variety of issues including open space, transportation options, and other infrastructural needs. But the primary impetus behind the program was to prevent haphazard development in the neighborhood. Since the neighborhood zoning regulations have mostly remained the same since 1961, it’s possible to build a taller building on a street that otherwise has two-to-three-story row houses.

Instead, the community plan seeks to place an emphasis on affordable housing and more regulated development moving forward. Already the local council members have conducted several visioning and information sessions with local residents over the last two years, and this will be the latest round of public feedback following an open house in June last year. A previous meeting scheduled towards the end of last year was cancelled because of disagreements over rezoning at Broadway Triangle, according to DNAInfo.

The meeting to discuss the Bushwick Community Plan will take place February 11, 2017 at the Ridgewood Bushwick Youth Center at 1474 Gates Avenue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Stalled Bushwick Community Rezoning Plan Pushes Forward [DNAInfo]
• Bushwick Wants More Affordable Housing At Rheingold Site [Curbed]
• Massive Rental Inspired By a 'European Village' Coming to Rheingold Brewery Site [Curbed]