ESD meeting Monday to consider affordable housing at Brooklyn Bridge Park

BBP seeks changes to General Park Plan

June 19, 2015 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

One of several proposals for the Pier 6 development. Rendering courtesy of Asymptote Architecture

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A public board meeting will be held at the Empire State Development Corp. (ESD) on Monday, June 22, at 3 p.m. to consider changes to Brooklyn Bridge Park’s General Park Plan (GPP).

The park hopes to change the GPP to allow affordable housing in two high-rise towers planned for Pier 6, and possibly increase the number of residential units in Parcel B, the shorter tower.

The meeting is a result of a recent settlement between Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation (BBPC) and People for Green Space Foundation, a neighborhood group fighting two high-rise towers planned for Pier 6.

Thought the meeting is not public hearing, the public will be allowed to comment.

The BBP Board requested modifications that will allow the park’s board of directors to determine the number and affordability of residential units in each Pier 6 building (up to the limit of 430 units). The GPP currently specifies a maximum of 140 units on Parcel B.

Other changes the park is expected to ask for, as listed in court documents, include the inclusion of up to 5,000 square feet of retail or non-fast food restaurant space on Parcel A (the taller building); up to 10,000 square feet of community facility use on the ground floor and second floor, divided between Parcel A and Parcel B; and up to 72 parking spaces.

According to the documents, it is possible that the total amount of community facility square footage could be higher than 10,000 square feet. In this case, there would be a reduction in the amount of retail or restaurant space.

The affordable housing may include up to 190 units dedicated to residents who earn no more than 165 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), of which up to 50 units could be affordable to residents who earn no more than 80 percent of AMI.

In another change, a portion of the vehicular park road that lies between Parcel A and open space uses to the south and west, known as the Loop Road “elbow,” may be closed to traffic.

Brooklyn Bridge Park is mandated to support itself with income from in-park developments.

The ESD’s environmental review called for “the smallest program that could prudently support the annual maintenance and operations of the park.” People for Green Space Foundation maintains that the proposed towers – one roughly 15 stories and the other about 30 stories — are not financially necessary.

Affordable housing is a priority of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration.

The public will be permitted to testify immediately after the presentation and before the board votes on the modification. Public comments will be limited to two minutes each; representatives of organizations are asked to limit their comments to four minutes each. The meeting will be live-streamed.

The meeting takes place at Empire State Development, 633 Third Avenue, 37th Floor Conference Room, Manhattan.

Web casting of the meeting is available at http://www.esd.ny.gov/webcasts.

Due to building procedures, please RSVP by noon on Monday, June 22. RSVP by calling (212) 803-3818,

A public hearing on this subject will be scheduled at a future date.

Updated at 5:45 p.m. Friday