Brooklyn’s large, new, mixed-use development, 80 Flatbush, got the go ahead from the New York City Council this afternoon, paving the way for Alloy Development to begin work on one of the most controversial developments in the borough in recent years.
The City Council voted 48-2 in favor of the project. One of the negative votes came from City Council member Inez Barron, who represents East New York, and felt that the development should have had more affordable housing. Along with Council member Jumaane Williams, Barron asked that the city reconsider its Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) requirements to require more affordable housing in projects such as 80 Flatbush.
The decision was however a win for Council member Stephen Levin, whose district the project will rise in. He had to balance the requirements of his constituents, many of whom wanted shorter structures, with the needs of the developer, who could have built an as of right project with little to no community benefits.
In the end, Levin was able to convince the developers to reduce the height on the two tall towers in the project—from 986 feet to 840 feet, and from 560 feet to 510 feet—while still maintaining the affordable housing count at 200. The density of the project was also reduced from 18 FAR to 15.75 FAR—Levin said he was hoping for it to go below 15 but that made the overall development unfeasible in the end. In addition to the housing, the project will also create new office space, two new schools, and community facilities.
“We believe we’ve negotiated as far as we can go while still maintaining a viable project,” said Levin, during the vote on Wednesday.
The project was essentially assured to pass today after the affirmative vote last week by the zoning and franchises; and land use subcommittees. The final step in the process is for the Mayor to sign off on the project, allowing Alloy to begin construction.
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