Gowanus Rezoning Gets Yes Vote, 14-Page 'Road Map' For Changes

BROOKLYN, NY — The city’s controversial plan to rezone Gowanus will head to the next stage of the review process with a “yes” vote from the neighborhood’s community board — but not without a 14-page list of changes the support will hinge on.

Community Board 6, which oversees the vast majority of the 80 block set to transform under the rezoning plan, voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to approve the Gowanus Neighborhood Plan with a long list of conditions.

The vote follows the approval last week of the board's Landmarks/Land Use Committee, who, like the majority of the full board, agreed a conditioned approval would go further than a "no" vote in keeping their demands in the minds of lawmakers as the rezoning moves up in the review process.

"We are giving the councilman and the borough president a road map on how we think this should be improved," Jerry Armer said. "It’s better to come to the table with something that our elected officials, borough president and councilman can work with than just saying no — and I think we’ve done that with this motion."

Among the conditions are three demands made by the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice, including a request to fully fund public housing repairs that both City Council Members Brad Lander and Stephen Levin have said their votes will hinge on.

One of the City Council members assured the board before the vote that the entire 14-page list would act as an "instruction manual" as lawmakers push for changes to the plan, which has been in the works for a decade.

"I would take this resolution as an instruction manual, as marching orders, from the community," Council Member Brad Lander.

But some community board members had less faith that would be the case.

"If [the conditions] were going to happen, I would say yes," said Victoria Alexander, pointing to promises made by officials in past city-led rezonings. "I don’t have a lot of faith even though we put these amendments forward that they are going to be executed."

For some of Community Board 6, voting yes to the rezoning with hope for changes to its flaws was a better option than the risk of voting against the plan and no change coming for the neighborhood.

Many pointed to the neighborhood's soaring rent prices and the city's housing crisis, which lawmakers have argued the 8,200 or so units of housing promised by the rezoning would help to address. Around a third of the new units would be designated as affordable, officials say.

"It is certainly not a panacea and will not solve all problems facing New York City, but it will get us going in that direction," Board Member Eric McClure said. "2,500 affordable units is nothing to sneeze at — It’s going to mean a lot to those 2,500 families."

The community board vote comes after months of delay on the Gowanus rezoning plan, which faced a lengthy court battle from opponents who argued the use of virtual hearings during the coronavirus crisis stifled public participation.

The proposal will head next to the Borough President's Office and the City Planning Commission, before facing City Council.

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