Sunset Park experiencing construction boom

Eighth Ave. Center, new archway are signs of development

November 6, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Plans for the Eighth Avenue Center are part of the exciting new developments taking place in Sunset Park that are attracting citywide attention to the neighborhood. Architect’s rendering courtesy of Richard Chan Architects, P.C.

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Sunset Park is experiencing good times. And the neighborhood’s Asian-American community is in at the center of all the action.

First, there was the news that developers are fermenting plans to build the Eighth Avenue Center; a massive complex on Eighth Avenue and 62nd Street that would include a hotel, a shopping center, residential apartments and other amenities.

Then, last week, there was a major announcement from Mayor Bill de Blasio that the city is planning to construct the Brooklyn Friendship Archway, a Chinese-inspired portico on Eighth Avenue between 60th and 61st streets.

The archway, which will be constructed by the Department of Transportation, will serve as a welcome to visitors at the entrance to Sunset Park’s Chinatown.

Taken together, the Eighth Avenue Center and the Brooklyn Friendship Archway serve as signs that Brooklyn’s Asian-American community now stands at the crossroads of power and political influence in the city, according to political observers.

Paul Mak, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association, said his organization has seen tremendous growth since it was founded more than 30 years ago.

“The Chinese population growth here is the highest among all five boroughs in New York City,” he said in a statement issued on the day de Blasio came to Sunset Park to announce the plans for the archway.

Mak predicted that the archway will lead to big things for the neighborhood. “The Brooklyn Friendship Archway is extraordinarily meaningful to all people in our community and it will also stimulate the development of local economic growth, tourism, cultural and entertainment industries,” he stated.

The Brooklyn Chinese-American Association, which operates out of offices at 5002 Eighth Ave., provides English lessons, job training, social service referrals and immigration case assistance to Asians.

Brooklyn’s Chinese-American population has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years, according to city officials, who said the Sunset Park neighborhood has the second-largest Chinese-American population in all of New York City, behind only Flushing, Queens.

“Over the last few decades, Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park has grown into one of the greatest hubs of our city’s growing and vibrant Chinese-American community. And it will soon be graced with a grand and distinctive arch to welcome locals and visitors alike,” de Blasio said in a statement.

DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg predicted that the archway will bring tourists to the area.

“DOT looks forward to ensuring this new and distinctive structure is safely constructed and serves for years ahead as a signal to New Yorkers and a growing number of tourists that Sunset Park is a destination we all should visit,” Trottenberg stated.

Assemblymember Felix Ortiz (D-Sunset Park-Bay Ridge) agreed that the archway will attract tourists. “The new arch will become a landmark, drawing many more people to visit, work and live,” he said in a statement.

Councilmember Carlos Menchaca (D-Sunset Park-Red Hook) called the announcement “a great day for the Chinese community, and indeed all of Sunset Park” and said the neighborhood has a lot to offer.

“Sunset Park is a diverse and vibrant part of New York City, and this arch will help demonstrate its deep connections to so many different communities across the world,” Menchaca stated.

Meanwhile, plans are also underway for the Eighth Avenue Center, residential-commercial development at 6200 Eighth Ave., on the Dyker Heights-Sunset Park border. Under the plans, the center will be sprawling complex stretching from Eighth Avenue to Seventh Avenue, between 62nd and 64th streets that will include a hotel, a shopping mall, hundreds of housing units, a library and a small private preschool.

The Eighth Avenue Center has the potential to be a game-changer in Brooklyn, according to supporters, who said it could create hundreds of jobs.

The property is owned by an entity known as 62-08 Realty Corp., according to Department of Finance records.

Richard Chan Architects, PC is the firm designing the Eighth Avenue Center.

The project still has some hurdles to overcome. For one thing, the developers would need a special permit from the city to build the center because the site is zoned for manufacturing use, not as a residential space.

The project has raised some concerns. A report issued by the Zoning and Land Use Committee of Community Board 10 found that the Eighth Avenue Center could have a significant impact on surrounding communities.

The 31-page report was titled “6200 Eighth Avenue: Where Neighborhoods Collide.”

The Eighth Avenue Center site is located within Community Board 10’s borders. The Brooklyn Friendship Archway, falls within the borders of Community Board Seven.

“The plans for 6200 Eighth Ave. describe a mixed-use megaproject that will undoubtedly have a major impact on the surrounding area,” Michael Devigne, a Hunter College graduate who assisted the zoning committee, wrote in the report.

The study focused on Northern Dyker Heights and a slice of Sunset Park.

Devigne used city records, census figures and other data to compile the study.

“The population has grown at a rapid pace,” Zoning Committee Chairman Brian Kaszuba told the Brooklyn Eagle. The population grew by 15 percent between 2000 and 2015, the report found.

The report looked at the job market and found that 21.6 percent of the residents work in the healthcare and social assistance industry. Another 11.6 percent work in the accommodation and food services industries. And 10.8 percent are employed in retail.

The Eighth Avenue Center has the potential to change those employment figures, supporters of the development said.